Free online PDF tool
Convert a PDF to grayscale
Printing a colour document on a monochrome printer can produce muddy, low-contrast results. Converting to grayscale first lets you see exactly how it will print, and often reduces file size along the way.
One important trade-off: this tool works by rendering each page to an image and converting it, so the output pages become pictures. Text will look correct but will no longer be selectable or searchable. Keep your colour original if you need the text.
Open Grayscale PDFRuns in your browser — your files are never uploaded.
How to Grayscale PDF
- Select the colour PDF.
- Press "Convert to grayscale" and watch the progress as each page is processed.
- Download the grayscale PDF, ready for monochrome printing.
Frequently asked questions
Will my text still be selectable?
No. Each page is rasterized into an image during conversion, which flattens the text. This is the main reason to keep your original file.
Why does it take longer than other tools?
Every page has to be rendered and processed pixel by pixel. Longer documents genuinely take more work than tools that just copy pages.
Does the file get smaller?
Often, yes, since colour information is discarded. Documents that were mostly text may grow, because text compresses better than the image that replaces it.
Is this the same as printing in black and white?
It produces the same visual result, but bakes it into the file, so it looks identical on every printer and screen.