Convert PDF to Grayscale
Convert PDF to grayscale for printing or for a submission that asks for black and white. Every page is drawn again in grey and the file is rebuilt from those pages, so the file itself is grey rather than merely looking grey on screen — which is what a print shop needs. The pages become pictures in the process, so the text can no longer be selected. Everything happens in your browser, so your file is never uploaded.
- Free, no sign-up
- Files never leave your device
- Up to 100 MB per file
Drop a PDF file here
or
Up to 100 MB per file. Your files stay on your device.
Your file stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
What next
- Print a test page: thin coloured lines and pale highlighting can turn into a very light grey.
- Sending it to a print shop? Mention that it is already greyscale, so it is priced as black-and-white printing.
How to convert a PDF to black and white
- 1
Click “Choose a PDF file” or drag your PDF into the box.
- 2
Choose how much detail you need. “Good” suits most documents.
- 3
Press “Make it grey” and wait while each page is drawn.
- 4
Download your file.
When you would use it
Meeting a print shop or a submission rule that asks for black and white.
Making a colour-heavy document cheaper to print in quantity.
Levelling the look of scanned pages that came out in slightly different colours.
Preparing a plain copy of a document where colour adds nothing.
What to expect
Each page is drawn again as a grey image, so the file really is grey rather than merely looking grey. The cost is that the text stops being text: it can no longer be selected, searched or copied. Keep your original.
Because pages become pictures, Arabic keeps exactly the shape it had. Nothing is re-typed or re-shaped, so letters cannot come apart in the process.
The size can go either way: a page of writing usually grows as an image, a page full of colour usually shrinks.
Links, form fields and notes do not survive the redraw, since only what was visible is kept.
If you need grey for one print run rather than in the file, your printer’s own black-and-white setting keeps the text intact.
Frequently asked questions
Can I turn a PDF to black and white for free?
Yes. No sign-up, no daily limit, and no watermark on your file.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The pages are drawn and the new file built inside your browser, on your device. Your PDF is never sent to us or anyone else.
Will I still be able to select the text?
No, and this is the thing to know before you start. Each page becomes a picture of itself, so the text is no longer text: it cannot be selected, searched or edited. Keep your original file.
Why turn the pages into pictures at all?
Because anything less is not really grey. Changing every colour a PDF uses, inside the text, the drawings, the photographs and the patterns, is not something that can be done reliably. Drawing each page in grey gives a file that is grey everywhere, in every reader and on every printer.
Is it properly grey, or just colours that look grey?
Properly grey. Each page is stored with a single grey channel rather than three colour channels that happen to match, which is what a print shop checks for when it asks for a greyscale file.
Will the file get smaller?
Usually not. A page of text is tiny as text and much larger as a picture of text. This tool is for making a file grey, not for making it smaller.
Which detail setting should I use?
“Good” for most things. “Screen” makes the smallest file and is fine for reading on a screen. “Print” is worth it when the file is going on paper and has photographs or fine lines in it.
Do my links and notes survive?
No. Only what can be seen on the page comes across. Links, notes and form fields are not carried over, so flatten a filled-in form first if the answers need to show.
Why can’t I open my password-protected PDF?
Protected files are encrypted, so their pages can’t be drawn. Remove the password first, then open the file again.