Compress a scanned document photo without killing the text
By EditItAll · Updated
Keep the scan as a JPG and start the quality slider high, then step it down while you watch the in to out size. Text smears before the page looks obviously bad. A TIFF goes through JPG conversion first. A PNG of paper rarely shrinks until it becomes a JPG.
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Compress a scanWhy a scan stays huge
A phone photo or scanner file of a document is usually a huge JPG, PNG, or TIFF. The page is a photograph of paper, with shadows, grain, and ink edges, so it does not behave like a flat logo.
Text dies first if you crush JPEG quality. Start high and step down, watching the in to out size on the results list. That readout rounds to a whole KB, so a line that says 20 KB can be 20.4 KB.
JPG, PNG, and TIFF
If the scan is already a JPG, open Compress a scan and move the quality slider. Add the optional max-dimension cap only when the pixel width itself is the problem.
- PNG of a scan rarely shrinks on PNG compress, because photos of paper are not flat graphics. Convert that PNG to JPG, then compress the JPG.
- TIFF from a scanner: convert with TIFF to JPG first, then compress the JPG if it is still too big.
There is no target-file-size field. You judge size from the rounded in to out readout after each pass.
Where to do the work
Convert and Compress are hub pages. They list formats. They do not take a file.
- Open the exact page: JPG compress, PNG compress, or TIFF to JPG. The full set lives on Tools.
- Drop the scan. It is processed right on your device and never uploaded.
- For JPG, start the quality slider high. Step down only while letters stay crisp. Use the max-dimension cap if you need fewer pixels.
- Read the results list: in size, then out size, both rounded to whole KB.
The page works offline after it loads. No account, no watermark.
What this page will not do
There is no OCR and no searchable PDF. The file stays a picture of the page.
This is also not a visa-photo limit and not a government-form signature limit. If the place you upload to names a strict byte cap, treat that cap as theirs and keep stepping quality down until the rounded out size fits, with the text still readable. For how quality numbers behave in general, use the JPEG quality guide from Tools.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my PNG scan barely shrink?+
A photo of paper is not a flat graphic. PNG keeps almost every pixel. Convert the scan to JPG, then compress that JPG if it is still too big.
What do I do with a scanner TIFF?+
Convert the TIFF to JPG first. Compress that JPG only if the converted file is still too big for where you need to send it.
Can I type a target size in KB?+
No. Controls are a quality slider and an optional max-dimension cap. The results list shows in to out size, rounded to a whole KB.
Will the text stay sharp?+
Only if you start quality high and stop before letters break up. JPEG blur hits text before the rest of the page looks obviously bad.