How to Compress Files for Email: Complete Guide
Learn how to compress images, PDFs, and other files for email attachments. Bypass size limits and send files faster.
Email attachment limits can be frustrating. Most email providers restrict attachments to 25MB or less. In this guide, we'll show you how to compress various file types to fit within these limits.
Understanding Email Attachment Limits
Different email providers have different limits:
- Gmail: 25 MB
- Outlook: 20 MB
- Yahoo: 25 MB
- iCloud: 20 MB
When your files exceed these limits, you have two options: use a file sharing service, or compress your files to reduce their size.
Compressing Images
Images are often the biggest culprits when it comes to large attachments. A single high-resolution photo can be 5-10 MB or more.
Tips for Image Compression
- Use JPG format for photos (smaller than PNG)
- Reduce quality to 80-85% - usually imperceptible
- Resize images if full resolution isn't needed
- Convert PNG screenshots to JPG for smaller size
LocFiles Image Compressor can reduce image sizes by 50-90% while maintaining good visual quality.
Compressing PDFs
PDF files, especially those with images, can grow quite large. A 50-page document with photos might exceed 20 MB easily.
PDF compression works by optimizing images within the document and removing unnecessary metadata. The result is a smaller file that looks virtually identical to the original.
Creating ZIP Archives
For multiple files, creating a ZIP archive is often the best solution. ZIP compression:
- Combines multiple files into one attachment
- Reduces total size through compression
- Preserves folder structure
- Works with any file type
The Create ZIP tool lets you bundle files together and compress them in one step. Perfect for sending multiple documents, photos, or mixed file types.
Best Practices
- Compress before attaching, not after
- Remove unnecessary pages from PDFs
- Use appropriate image resolution for the purpose
- Consider cloud sharing for very large files
- Always keep original files as backup
With the right compression tools, you can send almost any file via email. Remember to balance file size with quality - compress enough to fit limits, but maintain readability for the recipient.