Grayscale PDF
Turn a colour PDF into shades of grey, to print without colour ink or to meet a black and white submission rule.
or drop it here · up to 50 MB, free
Bigger files? Pro converts files up to 500 MBOver the free limits: you can unlock the download from €1.99.
Working on it…
Your file is ready
Free · No sign-up · No watermark · Your files never leave your device
Grayscale PDF in 3 steps
- Select your PDF, or drop it on the box.
- Click Convert to grayscale.
- Download the black and white PDF.
Grey that stays sharp
Printing a colour PDF in black and white on an office printer can still use colour ink, and some courts, universities and print shops only accept grayscale files. Converting first gives you a document that looks exactly as it will print, with no surprises at the copy shop.
Many converters simply photograph each page in grey, which blurs the text and makes it unsearchable. This tool rewrites the colours inside the PDF instead: text, lines and shapes become grey but stay vector, so they remain sharp and selectable, and each photo is replaced by a greyscale version. Colours turn into grey according to their brightness, so a red and a green heading do not end up as the same shade. Rare elements, such as spot colours from professional print software, may keep their colour.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a PDF to grayscale?
Select your PDF here and click Convert to grayscale. Text, drawings and pictures are turned into shades of grey, and the black and white PDF downloads straight away. It works on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android without installing anything.
Will the text still be selectable?
Yes. The tool does not turn pages into pictures. It changes the colours inside the PDF, so the text stays real text that you can select, copy and search, and it prints just as sharp as before.
Does a grayscale PDF save ink?
It saves colour ink, because the printer receives a document with no colour in it and has nothing to mix. Keep in mind that dark backgrounds and full-page photos still use plenty of black ink, even in grayscale.
Is grayscale the same as black and white?
Grayscale keeps every shade from white to black, so photos and charts stay readable. Pure black and white, with only two tones, loses most of the detail in photos. That is why grayscale is what people usually mean by a black and white PDF.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs inside your browser on your own device, so the document is never sent to us or stored anywhere. That matters for contracts, medical letters and anything else you would rather keep private.