The current support for embedding JPEG/JPX/JPEG 2k images is nice, but it results in extremely large PDFs unless an unacceptable level of compression is used in generating those files. From my brief research, PDFs support a number of compression algorithms for images including:
CCITT G3/G4 – used for monochrome images
JPEG – a lossy algorithm that is used for images
JPEG2000 – a more modern alternative to JPEG, which is also used for compressing images
Flate – used for compressing text as well as images
JBIG2 – an alternative to CCITT compression for monochrome images
LZW – used for compressing text as well as images but getting replaced by Flate
RLE – used for monochrome images
ZIP – used for grayscale or color images
It would be really great if some or all of the following things could be supported in the future:
- Support for adding an image using a PNG file
- Support for compression using ZIP for color images and CCITT G4 or JBIG2 for monochrome images
- API changes to allow images to be compressed as part of the NewImage functions and/or the ability to provide an array of data for a compressed lossless image (i.e. PNG)
- Support for monochrome/grayscale images through an API call where you just pass an array of pixel data instead of having to use JPEG data
Is there any chance these can be added? If purchasing support would result in these being added sooner (or at all), please let me know, as I think the PDF creation would benefit greatly from these additions.
Thanks,
Mike
