The ISO PDF specification is set to integrate the Brotli compression algorithm, promising documents that are roughly 20% smaller without sacrificing visual quality. This change moves beyond the traditional DEFLATE method used for decades, offering a more efficient standard for developers and archivists who handle large volumes of documents.

For years, PDFs have relied on DEFLATE, a reliable but aging compression standard. Adopting Brotli, developed by Google and already used for web content, brings modern compression benefits to a ubiquitous document format. This shift could reduce storage costs and improve download speeds for users across industries from publishing to enterprise software.

The update will be part of a future ISO revision, giving toolmakers time to implement the new compression scheme. Developers should watch for updates to libraries like QPDF and PDFium. Widespread adoption will depend on major PDF reader vendors like Adobe and Apple embracing the change, ensuring compatibility across the ecosystem.