8 tips for Optimizing Your PDF Generation

Introduction

Creating PDFs can often feel like a routine task, but when done right, it can make a big difference in how smoothly your work flows. Whether you’re working on reports, presentations, or any other document, generating PDFs quickly and efficiently is key to staying productive.

That’s where CraftMyPDF comes in — it’s designed to help you speed up the process while keeping everything simple and effective.

In this post, we’ll go over 8 practical tips to help you optimize your PDF creation with CraftMyPDF. Whether you’re just starting or already familiar with the tool, these tips will make your PDF generation easier and more efficient.

So, let’s get started!

8 tips for Optimizing Your PDF Generation

Tip 1. Pre-process Images with Image Component

When it comes to creating PDFs, optimizing your images and assets can significantly improve generation speed and reduce file size.

With CraftMyPDF’s image component, you can optimize images during post-processing. This lets you enhance images instantly without changing your original PDF templates.

To activate image pre-processing, which supports both JPEG and PNG formats, please select an image component then on the right activate Pre-process Image, remember to specify the max width and height. This helps significantly reduce the size of your generated PDFs.

Tip 2. Enable Compression in the API requests

To reduce file sizes during PDF generation, you can enable compression by adjusting the image_resample_res parameter. This setting resamples and downsizes all images in the PDF to the specified DPI. Recommended DPI values are 1200, 600, 300, 150, or 72.

We use the commercial-grade FoxIt SDK library, which applies compression algorithms that preserve image quality while minimizing file size.

For more details, refer to the API documentation.

https://craftmypdf.com/docs/index.html#tag/PDF-Generation-API/operation/create

Tip 3. Choose the Right Image Format

Select appropriate image formats for different content types to optimize file size and quality:

• JPEG: Best for photographs and complex images with many colors. It offers good compression for realistic images but may lose some quality.
• PNG: Ideal for graphics, logos, and images with transparency. It provides lossless compression, maintaining image quality but with larger file sizes than JPEG.
• SVG: Perfect for scalable vector graphics, icons, and illustrations. It offers infinite scalability without quality loss and typically smaller file sizes.
• WebP: A modern format that provides better compression than JPEG or PNG while maintaining good quality. It’s supported by most modern browsers.
• TIFF: Suitable for high-quality images that require lossless compression, often used in professional printing.

Whenever possible, use vector images such as SVG in your PDFs. They scale infinitely without loss of quality and typically have smaller file sizes compared to raster images.

Tip 4. Asyn for Long Running PDF Generation

When dealing with complex or large PDFs, generation times can sometimes be a challenge.

Synchronous processing waits for each PDF to be generated before moving on, which can lead to bottlenecks when generating many or large PDFs. In contrast, asynchronous processing allows your system to handle other tasks while the PDF generation continues in the background.

Use asynchronous API calls, ensuring that tasks such as PDF generation don’t block the main thread of execution.

For instance, you can trigger PDF generation requests in the background, then collect the results once they are ready, allowing other processes to continue smoothly. This is especially useful when dealing with high volumes of documents.

The following is our API reference for asynchronous PDF generation

https://craftmypdf.com/docs/index.html#tag/PDF-Generation-API/operation/create-async

Tip 5. Plan Unexpectedly and Use Batch Processing

PDF generation can sometimes fail due to temporary issues like network timeouts, memory overload, or server crashes. Without proper handling, a single failure could disrupt your workflow or leave important documents unfinished.

Implement error handling mechanisms such as retries with exponential backoff (a strategy where you increase the wait time between retries). Ensure that your system gracefully handles failures by logging errors, sending alerts, and maintaining a record of which documents were successfully generated and which need to be retried.

Batch processing can save time and system resources by grouping multiple PDF jobs together, enabling more efficient processing.

We do support concurrent API requests and you may send 100 requests per 10 second and you can find out more about rate-limiting at

https://craftmypdf.com/docs/index.html#section/Rate-limiting

Tip 6. Use User-defined Functions for Complex Logic

One of the standout features of CraftMyPDF is its ability to leverage expressions for handling dynamic data.

An expression in CraftMyPDF refers to a concise one-line programming syntax, enclosed within double curly brackets {{ and }}. This allows you to insert dynamic values and logic directly into your templates with ease.

To learn more about expression visit our support page

https://support.craftmypdf.com/basics-of-expressions

But if your requirements go beyond simple expressions and involve more complex logic, don’t worry: we’ve got you covered.

In the Settings tab, you’ll find a section called “User-defined Functions”. This enables you to write and implement custom functions using Javascript, giving you the flexibility to manage even the most intricate logic. Whether it’s complex calculations or conditional statements, you can handle it all with your own code.

To use an user-defined function

Tip 7. Simplified and Optimize Your Templates

When designing templates for PDF generation, it’s essential to prioritize simplicity and efficiency. A minimalistic design not only improves the document’s readability but also helps reduce file size and processing time.

Complex layouts with numerous design elements can significantly slow down the PDF generation process. To avoid this, focus on using clean lines, ample white space, and only the most essential elements that contribute to the document’s purpose.

In addition, steer clear of unnecessary graphics, large images, and intricate vector designs. These elements can heavily impact the performance of PDF creation, leading to longer load times and larger file sizes.

Instead, opt for simple and functional visuals that effectively communicate your message without overloading the document. By streamlining your design, you’ll create more efficient PDFs that are quicker to generate and easier to share or distribute.

Tip 8. Use Data Fields to Create Dynamic Fields

To quickly create dynamic fields, simply drag and drop from the Data Fields in the Toolbar.

We automatically detects the type and formats the field for you. This not only saves time but also reduces the need for manual configuration and ensuring your fields are correctly formatted for dates, numbers, text, or other data types.

Other tips

• Use Simple Table Component for tabular data instead of data-bound section
• Use PDF component to load PDF pages into your template instead
• Use HTML component for dynamic SVG

Conclusion

In summary, we’ve explored seven powerful tips for optimizing your PDF generation using CraftMyPDF. From pre-processing images and enabling compression to choosing the right image format, leveraging asynchronous processing, implementing error handling, and creating efficient templates, these strategies will help you streamline your workflow and produce high-quality PDFs more effectively.

Now, it’s time to put these tips into action! By applying these strategies, you’ll enhance your productivity, reduce file sizes, and create better documents faster. Don’t hesitate to start exploring these techniques today.

Ready to take your PDF generation to the next level? Give CraftMyPDF a try, and explore our additional resources for even more insights!