PDF to Grayscale
Convert a color PDF to black and white for printing, with text kept sharp and selectable. Free.
This tool uses our server. Your file is sent over an encrypted connection, processed, and deleted as soon as the result comes back. It is never stored or shared. How files are handled
PDF to Grayscale turns every color in a PDF into shades of gray: text, shapes, charts and photos. It's useful to check how a document prints on a black-and-white printer, to save color ink, or when a portal asks for a grayscale file. Text stays real, selectable text and shapes stay sharp, because only the colors change, not the content. Photos are converted at full resolution with high quality.
How to use PDF to Grayscale
- 1
Add your PDF
Drop or choose a PDF up to 30 MB.
- 2
Convert
Every color becomes a shade of gray.
- 3
Download
Save the grayscale PDF.
What it does
- Text stays text
- Selectable and searchable, not turned into images.
- Full-resolution photos
- Images are converted without being scaled down.
- Print-ready
- See and print exactly what a black-and-white printer would.
Questions
Will the text still be selectable?
Yes. Only the colors change, so text, links and the page layout stay as they were.
Will my PDF get bigger?
Usually it gets a little smaller, since gray images need less data than color ones.
Can I convert a password-protected PDF?
Remove the password first with Unlock PDF, then convert it.
Is my file uploaded?
Yes. This tool needs our server, so the file is sent over an encrypted connection, processed, and deleted as soon as the result is sent back. It is never stored, shared or looked at. Most other tools on this site run entirely in your browser.