How close the result stays to the original depends on how many page images share 200 KB. Text is never rasterised, and scanned text pages are stored as a sharp 1-bit text mask over a low-resolution background, keeping any OCR text layer. But every extra page takes its own slice of the budget, so if the portal needs only certain pages, extract those first and let the search spend the whole allowance on them. Colour goes last: only the three lowest rungs, 72 DPI and below, are grayscale. If nothing fits, Bindery says the smallest size reached and why, and offers “Split into parts under 200 KB”. If the portal also refuses restricted files, form fields or scripts, Upload-ready’s Exam or ID form destination checks those with the 200 KB limit and fixes what it can in one pass: it lifts print and copy restrictions, flattens fields, strips scripts, then runs the same size search. A file that needs a password to open still asks you for it. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no server copy to delete.
How it works
- Open Compress from this page and drop the PDF — the 200 KB limit is already filled in
- Let the search measure real settings on your device, then read the “Under 200 KB” card
- Download the best version that fits, or choose “Split into parts under 200 KB” if none does
Questions people ask
Does Bindery’s 200 KB match the portal’s 200 KB?
Bindery counts a kilobyte as 1,000 bytes, so the target is 200,000 bytes and a file it reports as fitting is at or under that. A portal that counts 1,024-byte kilobytes allows up to 204,800 bytes, so the result clears either reading. The limit also applies to the file you actually download: on the free plan the small “Made with Bindery” line is added before the final size check, and if it tips the file over 200 KB the search runs again with less room.
Will a 200 KB copy of my ID still be legible?
It depends on how many page images share the 200 KB, and the card tells you before you download: the setting line shows the DPI and JPEG quality the search settled on, and ends in “grayscale” when colour could not fit; the higher the numbers, the closer the copy is to your original. The photo on an ID card is picture detail and softens at the lower settings, so zoom in on the face and any signature before you upload. If the portal wants a colour copy and yours came back grayscale, give the search more room per page by extracting only the pages it asks for.
What if the file cannot get under 200 KB at all?
Bindery says so, with the smallest size it reached and the reason: either the pictures still weigh too much at the lowest setting, 50 DPI in grayscale, or the text, fonts and structure alone are bigger than 200 KB, which no image setting can shrink. The “Split into parts under 200 KB” button then opens Split with that smallest version loaded and the limit set; each part is measured by writing it, and a page that is over 200 KB on its own still becomes its own part and is flagged. Check first that the portal accepts more than one file.