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Grayscale PDF

Convert a colour PDF to black and white (greyscale) — text stays sharp and selectable, photos turn grey — to save colour ink or meet print rules.

About Grayscale PDF

Convert a PDF to black and white before printing to save colour ink, or when an office, college or court asks for greyscale documents. The default method rewrites the colours inside the PDF to shades of grey and converts the photos, so text stays sharp and selectable and links and form fields keep working.

Gradients and special colours that cannot be rewritten are covered by an optional grey layer, and a before and after preview shows the result. Pages as images is a fallback that works on any PDF. Everything runs in your browser, so your file is never uploaded.

How to use Grayscale PDF

  1. Drop a PDF or try the sample.
  2. Keep “Keep text and vectors” to convert colours inside the PDF (text stays selectable), or choose Pages as images.
  3. Compare the before and after preview.
  4. Click Convert to greyscale and download.

Frequently asked questions

Are my files uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is opened and processed entirely inside your browser using JavaScript libraries. Nothing is sent to a server, so it is safe for confidential documents.

Is the text still selectable?

Yes, in the default mode. Colour commands in the page content are rewritten to their grey equivalent and photos are converted, so text, links and form fields are untouched. Only “Pages as images” turns pages into pictures.

Why does a gradient or logo still look coloured in some viewers?

Gradients, patterns and some special colours (spot inks, CMYK photos) cannot be rewritten safely. With Grey out anything left ticked, a luminosity layer is added on top, which shows them in grey in Acrobat, Chrome and phone viewers. Untick it if you need the raw colours kept for those parts.

Will my printer print it in black only?

The colours become shades of grey, so most printers use black ink only. Some printers still mix grey from colour inks; choose “Greyscale” or “Black ink only” in your print settings to be sure.

How do I convert a colour PDF to black and white?

Drop the PDF, keep Keep text and vectors selected, check the preview and click Convert to greyscale.

Does greyscale make the PDF smaller?

Usually a little, because grey photos compress better. For a much smaller file, use Compress PDF with its greyscale option.

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