PDF editor alternatives to Adobe Acrobat - something that could be added to VS at some point?

[Boldline]

As part of a new continuing project series I am working on, I need to be able to export my files from VS as pdfs and then collate them into one PDF file in the smallest file size that retains quality of photo mockups inside the pdf pages. I know how to export them as PDFs from VS - it's the second part I need advice on.
The best program I have used so far to collate and reduce file size while retaining quality is Acrobat - it provides three different file size options and easily collates them into one pdf file I can save out and export. In trying to get away from Adobe entirely sooner than later, what are the best 3rd party apps I should use? I tried using Apple's preview, and while it allowed me to collate the individual pdfs, I did not see a way to control the amount of quality vs file size - there was a one-size-fits-all option and it was blurry - too far reduced in quality for the sake of file size...
Is this a function that can be added within VS in the long term? Is that a realistic question?
Maybe I need to look more into option in VS to reduce file size of the individual pdf files and then use apple's preview app method and not bother with changing the quality there?

[Devil Dinosaur]

I use Apple 's Preview for combining PDF files. It's not bad and you can even add a password to your files.
One free solution to reduce size is Lightweight PDF on the Apple store, quite effective. But unfortunately for your case, there are no control on the settings, it's a drag & drop.

[VectorStyler]

@Boldline PDF has its own internal hierarchy and document model. This would need to be kept intact (subject to optimizations), and should not be converted to another model (like when importing into VS).
So a PDF editor would always be preferable as a separate application.

One example are fonts: PDFs embed font subsets. These are only useful to render the text in that PDF and if the user wants to add a new character, the original font must be found. This not always possible, resulting in some conversion of the font type.

[Boldline]

@VectorStyler said in PDF editor alternatives to Adobe Acrobat - something that could be added to VS at some point?:

So a PDF editor would always be preferable as a separate application.

Thanks for the explanation - I am testing out some different ones now.