Convert PDF to Black and White (Grayscale)
Strip color from a PDF for cheaper, simpler printing.
How to Convert a PDF to Grayscale in 3 Steps
- Upload your color PDF. Drag and drop or browse for the color PDF you want to convert to black and white. Any PDF with color pages is supported.
- Click "Grayscale PDF". PDFTools removes all color information from the document, converting every element — text, images, backgrounds, and graphics — to shades of gray.
- Download your black-and-white PDF. Your grayscale PDF is ready to download immediately. It is now suitable for black-and-white printing without wasting color ink or toner.
Why Use PDFTools to Grayscale PDF?
- Save on printing costs — Color ink and toner is significantly more expensive than black-and-white. Converting to grayscale before printing can substantially reduce your printing costs.
- Consistent black-and-white output — Every element in the document — including charts, graphs, images, and backgrounds — is converted to grayscale using professional color-conversion algorithms.
- Smaller file size as a bonus — Grayscale PDFs are often smaller in file size than color versions, making them easier to email and share.
- Works on any PDF — Converts color PDFs of any type — scanned documents, presentations, reports, and forms — to clean, professional black and white.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the grayscale PDF look the same as the original?
The layout, text, and structure will be identical. Colors are converted to their grayscale equivalents — bright colors become lighter grays, dark colors become darker grays. The document remains fully readable.
Can I convert only specific pages to grayscale?
The Grayscale PDF tool converts all pages in the document. If you need to convert only specific pages, split the PDF first, convert the relevant section to grayscale, then merge the results back together.
Does converting to grayscale reduce quality?
No. The conversion uses Ghostscript's color space conversion which processes images and graphics at their original resolution. There is no quality loss in the conversion process itself.