How Combine Pdfs Without Losing Quality?

Question

Merging scanned novel chapters into one PDF for offline reading. I'm worried about image resolution dropping or text getting blurry after combining them.

D_Fox · Answer

To merge PDFs without losing quality, look for tools that use non-destructive methods. Adobe Acrobat has a 'Combine' function that works well with PDFs, as does Smallpdf's free online merge tool. Just make sure you're uploading the original, un-compressed files. I've been dealing with a large number of scanned documents recently, and using similar methods to merge them together has led me to ponder an oddly titled web novel, 'Files of Pleasure (an Intimate Compilation)'. The novel is written as a series of confidential case files and letters that the protagonist must gather together and piece together. The reading experience of 'Files of Pleasure' is akin to trying to assemble a high-stakes digital archive – every detail matters.

Nathy Amorim · Answer

Who knew that something so seemingly simple had so many caveats? I suppose this is a result of the inherent complexity of the PDF format. Originally designed as a final fixed image, PDFs are not easily edited or merged, hence why we have to perform ‘surgery’ on them using various tools. Clearly, some are more able than others at this task. The key is to find a suitable tool and ensure it treats your original content with due respect – only modifying it as required. A respectful tool is all your files need!

Quincy · Answer

Merge PDFs without losing quality. I have tried a lot of programs that merge PDFs. So far the best quality is given by programs that prioritize resolution and formatting. Acrobat Pro from Adobe is my favorite. It is really reliable and merges PDFs without losing any quality. First open the tool. Then choose "Combine Files". After that just drag and drop the PDFs you want to merge.

For free merge tools, I use PDF24 Creator and Smallpdf. Most online tools don’t compress the files too much, if at all. I disable the default compression that most tools enable in the settings. Large or sensitive files are usually better handled by desktop apps than by online apps. On Macs, you can also merge PDFs using Preview, but it’s not as powerful as the above mentioned tools. Always check the merged document for clarity and open it in edit mode before saving.

Jamie Douglas Freeman · Answer

What matters is the underlying device. In the case of Ghostscript, which is used by many tools, the default setting (or prepress) does not downsample images. For free GUI tools, which are tuned for their users and often kept small, they typically run with a ‘screen’ or ‘ebook’ device. You need to find a tool where you can select the desired preset, or where it already is set to a high-quality one for you. Tools aimed at professionals, including some pieces of free software, usually let you tweak those settings in sufficient detail. Look for a dropdown list called ‘Adobe PDF Settings’ or ‘Ghostscript Quality’; choose ‘Prepress’ or ‘High Quality Print’.

Ryder · Answer

I have merged hundreds of PDFs for various projects. Typically this involves choosing the right application and tweaking settings to maintain quality. Foxit PhantomPDF is an excellent tool for merging multiple PDF files while keeping to font and vector data. Ilovepdf is also a good online tool for merging PDFs on occasion. Be careful though as the images are downsampled.

A further, as yet largely unknown tip: Convert image-heavy PDFs to high-resolution PNGs first and then merge them in GIMP or Photoshop to create a new PDF. For purely text-based documents, however, LibreOffice Draw is a surprisingly good solution. Save the resulting file as PDF/A-1a for maximum archiveability. Test the method first with a single file, though.

Yara · Answer

Stick to well-tested PDF software such as Nitro Pro or Microsoft Print to PDF for basic merges. Note the file size of source PDFs – a sudden reduction typically indicates that they have been compressed in some manner. For academics in particular, the pdfpages package for LaTeX is a beautiful solution to this type of document-merging problem. Although there are mobile apps available (such as Xodo) that can achieve PDF merges on the go, this type of work is generally best left to desktop applications in order to ensure quality.

RedSnow · Answer

Further, it’s worth noting that PDFs that are forms, require special care when merging. To properly merge fillable PDF forms, one would typically use tools like Adobe Acrobat or PDFescape. A simple merge of PDFs will flatten the forms, making them static. Thus, “quality” of merged PDFs is not just a visual attribute and should be understood in a more functional sense. Also, before merging content, one should always verify what type of content one is dealing with. Simple text and images are no problem. However, interactive elements, complex layers and annotations typically require much more powerful tools. Sometimes, even preserving “quality” of merged PDFs means preserving editability – and that’s a completely different ball game than simple preserving of pixels.

Elios · Answer

Does the OS even matter? On Linux, for example, you have full access to the files in the terminal, so you can use the ‘cat’ command and other ‘terminal tricks’. On the Mac, you have Preview and Automator to your disposal. On Windows, you have a plethora of other freeware tools to choose from, and Microsoft’s own Print to PDF (in Microsoft Office 2010 and later) – which, unsurprisingly, is the OS’ ‘preferred method’ of merging files. I’d suggest going with the OS native method first, as they are designed within the OS, are integrated, and are less likely to mess things up. (On Windows, that native method is more of a ‘printer trick’ and doesn’t really offer the same kinds of merge capabilities as a dedicated utility, however). For the Mac and Linux users out there, the system tools are likely to be the best option.

Lila · Answer

I prepare my pdfs for merging by using Canon’s PrintStudio Pro (this is a little odd but it does handle multi-page pdfs very well). I also use PDFsam Basic to split and merge my pdfs. Avoid applications that auto-optimize as they tend to produce blobby text.

On Linux I use pdftk-java, a command-line tool, for merging PDFs. On Windows, PDF-XChange Editor has a very nice manual compression management. Scanning documents at 300 DPI before merging them (if they are physical copies) is also a best practice. Don’t let cloud services shrink your PDF files. Download the original versions instead.

Maisa Abbasi · Answer

Back to my chair. I spent 20 minutes of my life reading that article on PDF merging. Internet - it's a strange thing. But at least I learned about , so that wasn't a total waste of time.

shortcke · Answer

If the PDF is just a wrapper for final formatted content then merging content that hasn’t been edited should be transparent. That means that instead of thinking of this as photo editing, you should think of this as a binder tool. So look for “join”, “concatenate”, “assemble” or “merge without changing” in the features of programs that merge PDFs. Avoid programs that mention “convert”, “optimize”, “compress” or “edit” in their list of features. The simple filter of those words will quickly narrow down your choices to programs that don’t do more than you want them to.

Lovely Rose · Answer

Overcomplicating this further: On the Mac, I simply open up all the PDFs in Preview, switch to Thumbnail view, drag and drop them to reorder them as desired, and then save them off. That’s it. The quality of the PDFs is not compromised in any way. This is using the native functionality of the Mac’s OS, implemented via the Quartz framework, designed for exactly this sort of thing. On Windows, the process is not as elegant, but essentially identical: create a new Microsoft Word document, open up a text editor, etc. and then “print” them off to a new PDF using the “Print to Microsoft PDF” printer. There’s no quality loss here, because there’s no incentive for any third-party algorithm to compress the data for you. In fact, the simplest, system-integrated methods to make a new PDF are usually the best.

mzbk1411story · Answer

For those concerned with quality, it is not just a case of pixelating images. All PDF documents contain metadata including bookmarks, hyperlinks, form fields and layers. A true lossless merge will not only preserve the visual content of the documents but also the structure. Free tools for merging PDFs often appear to work well at first but soon reveal that all the bookmarks and hyperlinks have been stripped from the document. If you have PDFs with internal links or a table of contents then you need a more complex tool. Here, again, Acrobat Pro is the best tool but there are others on the market that are equally good and more affordable. PDF-XChange Editor is a good example of this and it does a great job of merging PDF documents whilst also preserving all of the document properties and interactive elements.

How Combine Pdfs Without Losing Quality?

13 Answers

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