How to Compress PDF Files in Java

IronPDF enables Java developers to compress PDF files by reducing image quality and scaling resolution, helping reduce file sizes for easier sharing and storage.

Quickstart: Compress PDF Files in Java

```java {title="Compress PDF in Java"} import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*; import java.nio.file.Paths;

// Load your PDF document PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("source.pdf"));

// Compress images to 60% quality pdf.compressImages(60);

// Save the compressed PDF pdf.saveAs(Paths.get("compressed.pdf"));

1. Add IronPDF dependency to your Maven pom.xml  
2. Load your PDF using `PdfDocument.fromFile()`  
3. Compress images with `pdf.compressImages(60)`  
4. Save the compressed PDF with `pdf.saveAs()`  
5. Optionally use resolution scaling for further compression

PDF documents are commonly used for storing and sharing information but can become quite large. Large file sizes create problems when sharing, uploading, or storing PDFs. To address this, you can compress PDF files using IronPDF, a Java PDF Library. Compression reduces file size by optimizing images and removing unnecessary elements.

This article explores how to compress PDF files in Java using IronPDF. We provide code samples to help you understand and implement compression in your projects. Whether working with [image-heavy PDFs](https://ironpdf.com/java/how-to/java-pdf-to-image-tutorial/) or documents containing [multiple merged PDFs](https://ironpdf.com/java/how-to/java-merge-pdf-tutorial/), compression helps manage documents efficiently.

## What Is IronPDF for Java?

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IronPDF is a [Java PDF library](/java/) that creates, manipulates, compresses, and reads PDF files from any programming environment. It generates accurate documents with features like document control, form filling, image embedding, and compression. The library supports [various deployment environments](https://ironpdf.com/java/get-started/aws/) including AWS Lambda, [Azure Functions](https://ironpdf.com/java/get-started/azure/), and [Google Cloud](https://ironpdf.com/java/get-started/google-cloud/).

IronPDF compresses existing PDFs to reduce file size while maintaining quality. This makes it suitable for large documents that need quick sharing over the internet or email. The library also handles [HTML to PDF conversion](https://ironpdf.com/java/tutorials/html-to-pdf/), [printing PDFs](https://ironpdf.com/java/how-to/java-print-pdf-tutorial/), and [creating PDF forms](https://ironpdf.com/java/how-to/create-forms/).

IronPDF's compression works with other features like [adding watermarks](https://ironpdf.com/java/how-to/custom-watermark/), [backgrounds and foregrounds](https://ironpdf.com/java/how-to/background-foreground/), and [bookmarks](https://ironpdf.com/java/how-to/bookmarks/), providing comprehensive PDF document management.

## How Do I Compress PDF Documents Using IronPDF?

Follow these steps to compress PDF file size. The compression process in IronPDF is straightforward and requires minimal configuration.

### How Do I Install IronPDF in a Java Maven Project?

Before compressing PDFs, set up IronPDF in your project. For detailed setup instructions, see the [Get Started Overview](https://ironpdf.com/java/docs/).

- To install IronPDF in a [Maven project](/java/docs/), add the IronPDF Maven repository and dependency to your project's pom.xml file.

- Add the IronPDF dependency to the **<dependencies>** section of your pom.xml file:

    ```xml
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
        <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
        <version>your_version_here</version>
    </dependency>

• Save your pom.xml file and run mvn install to install the IronPDF dependency.

After completing these steps, you can import and use IronPDF classes in your project. For production deployment, configure your license key.

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class App {
    // Main method to compress PDF
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Define the path of the source PDF file
        String src = "C:\\Image based PDF.pdf";

        // Load the PDF document from the specified file path
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get(src));

        // Compress images within the PDF to 60% of their original quality
        pdf.compressImages(60);

        // Save the compressed PDF to a new destination
        pdf.saveAs(Paths.get("assets/document_compressed.pdf"));

        // Compress images to 90% with additional resolution scaling
        // This can potentially reduce file size further by scaling image resolution
        pdf.compressImages(90, true);

        // Define the path where the final compressed PDF will be saved
        String dest = "C:\\Compressed.pdf";

        // Save the final compressed PDF
        pdf.saveAs(Paths.get(dest));
    }
}

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class App {
    // Main method to compress PDF
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Define the path of the source PDF file
        String src = "C:\\Image based PDF.pdf";

        // Load the PDF document from the specified file path
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get(src));

        // Compress images within the PDF to 60% of their original quality
        pdf.compressImages(60);

        // Save the compressed PDF to a new destination
        pdf.saveAs(Paths.get("assets/document_compressed.pdf"));

        // Compress images to 90% with additional resolution scaling
        // This can potentially reduce file size further by scaling image resolution
        pdf.compressImages(90, true);

        // Define the path where the final compressed PDF will be saved
        String dest = "C:\\Compressed.pdf";

        // Save the final compressed PDF
        pdf.saveAs(Paths.get(dest));
    }
}