[EN] Compressed object streams used

Description

Compressed object streams have been supported since PDF version 1.5 (Acrobat 6). These are not permitted in PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, and PDF/A-1.

However, some PDF/X standards only allow objects compatible with PDF 1.4; therefore, cross-object compression is not permitted in PDF/X files of the following standards:

• ISO 15930-1 (PDF/X-1a:2001)
• ISO 15930-3 (PDF/X-3:2002)
• ISO 15930-4 (PDF/X-1a:2003)
• ISO 15930-6 (PDF/X-3:2003)

The PDF file uses object compression, a mechanism introduced starting with PDF 1.5. Multiple PDF objects are stored together in compressed form in so-called "object streams" to reduce file size.

The following PDF/X standards allow the use of PDF 1.5 as the language standard, thus allowing cross-object compression:

• ISO 15930-7 (PDF/X-4 and PDF/X-4p)

Common Causes

• Improper settings related to the selected PDF/X standard
• Conflicts with older job options: Adobe job options are known to cause problems when exporting from some InDesign versions if the job options were not created in the respective version, especially if they are Distiller job options.
• The PDF was created using a modern export or print PDF tool that enables object compression by default.
• Compression was intentionally enabled to achieve smaller file sizes.
• The PDF was saved with a higher PDF version than permitted (e.g., PDF 1.5 or higher), even though an older standard such as PDF/X-1a:2001 is required.

Suggested Solutions

Use PDF/X-4 

Because this standard allows object compression.

Adjust export options

If you want to create a PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3, make sure that the "Create Tagged PDF" or "Create Tagged PDF" setting is disabled. This setting prevents Object Stream Compression from being used.

Post-processing correction

Use tools like Callas pdfToolbox or Ghostscript to rewrite the file without object streams. Use the "Save without object compression" fixup or export with a PDF/X-1a profile.