how to reduce the quality of pdf created using R

Question

I am creating pdf reports using R (command ?pdf). The reports contain images that I have created and that are quite heavy (lot of datapoints) The created pdfs are very heavy. Is there a way to reduce the quality of the pdf when creating it?

I know I can do it using pdftk but I'd rather do it in one go as I want to minimize the number of manual operations.

@Will Hartung: can I call pdftk in a system() function in R? Maybe, but still... If possible it would be cleaner to specify the quality when creating the pdf rather than changing it afterwards! — RockScience, Mar 14 '11 at 06:46
if you can call it from a command line, you can call it from system(). As long as you don't need to send mouseclicks or some GUI actions, it's simple and straightforward. — Will Hartung, Mar 14 '11 at 17:08
Yes I use system("pdftk.exe pdf1 output pdf2 compress"). It reduces by 50% my pdf... — RockScience, Mar 15 '11 at 01:20

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 14 '11 at 12:45

3

If your PDF has a large number of data points sometimes a raster presentation is more efficient. You lose the infinite zoom of a vector format but can have a very nice representation for print or normal viewing sizes. It may also render faster.

Try generating your graphic in PDF and raster formats and see which is more efficient / suits your needs. You might be surprised that a PNG makes you happier.

answered Mar 14 '11 at 12:45

John

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Thanks for your answer. I'll will certainly do that. By in the end I would like to have a pdf. Do you know if it is possible to include a png inside the pdf? (without creating first the png then concatening) – RockScience Mar 15 '11 at 01:18
I suppose for PDF embedding jpeg is probably best just because it's the most compatible. – John Mar 15 '11 at 05:06

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 14 '11 at 07:14

It seems that there is no other solution than calling pdftk:
(extract from ?pdf)

pdf writes uncompressed PDF. It is primarily intended for producing 
PDF graphics for inclusion in other documents, and PDF-includers such 
as pdftex are usually able to handle compression: there are a large 
number of PDF compression utilities such as pdftk.

how to reduce the quality of pdf created using R

2 Answers2