The Real Reason Your PDF Email Keeps Bouncing
We've all been there: you attach that beautiful 35MB proposal… and Gmail/Outlook/Yahoo says "Nope."
Most popular email services cap attachments at:
- Gmail: 25 MB
- Outlook.com / Microsoft 365: 20–34 MB (depends on plan)
- Yahoo: 25 MB
Pro tip: Even if your provider says 25 MB, the file gets ~33% bigger during sending (thanks, Base64 encoding).
Safe target: Keep your final PDF under 15–18 MB.
PDF Compression Explained (Without the Tech Jargon)
Good compression doesn't just blindly make things smaller — it smartly removes stuff you usually don't need on screen:
- Lowering image resolution (300 DPI → 144 or 150 DPI is perfect for emails)
- Stripping out hidden junk: metadata, duplicate fonts, thumbnails
- Simplifying fancy graphics and transparency layers
Done right, you can shrink files 50–90% and still have everything look sharp on phones, laptops, and tablets.
Fastest Way: Use PDFEase Online (Free & No Signup)
Our tool usually cuts file size by 60–90% while keeping text razor-sharp and logos crystal clear.
- 1 Head to the PDFEase Compress Tool
- 2 Drag & drop or upload your big PDF
- 3 Choose "Recommended" (best balance) or "Maximum Compression" if you need it tiny
- 4 Download → attach → send with confidence!
No Extra Software? Use These Built-in Tricks
Mac – Using Preview (Super Easy)
Open PDF in Preview → File → Export… → Quartz Filter: Reduce File Size → Save.
Great for quick 40–70% reduction.
Windows – Print to PDF
Open PDF → Print → Choose Microsoft Print to PDF → Preferences/Properties → Set quality to Medium or Low → Print (save).
Works surprisingly well for most documents.
Quick 60-Second Email Checklist
- Zoom to 200% — is all the small text still readable?
- Click every link in the PDF — do they still work?
-
Rename file:
Proposal_ClientName_2026.pdflooks way better thanfinal_v12_compressed.pdf