PDF to Black and White: Turn a Color PDF Into Grayscale

You may need a black-and-white copy of a PDF for a printer without color, a submission that asks for grayscale, or a smaller file to email. This converter turns every color in the PDF into a shade of gray and keeps the text as real text.

How to convert a PDF to black and white

1. Click Choose Files or drag one or more PDFs of up to 25 MB each onto the upload area.
2. Add more files with the plus button, or remove the ones you don't need.
3. Click Convert to Grayscale.
4. Download the grayscale PDF. Several files arrive together in one ZIP.

There are no settings to choose. Every page of every file is converted the same way.

Grayscale or true black and white: what you get

The output is grayscale: each color becomes a shade of gray, so photos and charts keep their light and dark areas. It is not a 1-bit file of pure black and pure white pixels, which would turn photos into harsh patterns.

The conversion uses the Gray setting of Ghostscript's PDF writer, which converts all colors to DeviceGray. Many inkjet printers still mix gray from color inks, so also choose grayscale or black-only printing in the print dialog.

What happens to text, images and file size

Ghostscript writes a new PDF that should look like the original, only in gray. Text stays text you can select and search, vector drawings stay sharp, and links and layout are kept in most files.

Gray images need one value per pixel instead of three for color, so the file often gets smaller. Our 12-page sample of screenshots went from 3.1 MB to 1.6 MB; for a smaller file still, run the result through Compress PDF.

If you only need part of a long document, take those pages out first with Extract PDF Pages. For a dark version for screen reading instead of print, use PDF Dark Mode.

When a grayscale PDF is the right choice

Convert to grayscale when a document will be printed on a black-only laser printer or photocopied, since colors that look different on screen can turn into similar grays on paper. Checking the grayscale file first shows you whether a chart or a highlighted line is still readable.

Some submission guidelines ask for grayscale files. A grayscale copy is also a quick way to check how a layout works without color before you send it to print.

Locked PDFs, privacy and undoing the change

A PDF that needs a password to open cannot be converted. If you have the right to change it, remove the password first with Unlock PDF.

Your files are converted on our own server, not by an outside service, and deleted automatically within two hours. The conversion cannot be undone, so keep your color original.

What happened when we tested Grayscale PDF

We converted sample-screenshots.pdf, a 12-page PDF of our own app screenshots, 3.1 MB in size. The result, sample-screenshots_grayscaled.pdf, was 1.6 MB and still had 12 pages.

The page text, such as the "Screenshot 1 of 12" heading, could still be selected in the gray copy. Tested in October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions about converting a PDF to black and white

What is the difference between grayscale and black and white?

Grayscale uses shades of gray, so photos keep their detail. Pure black and white has only two values per pixel, which suits line drawings but not photos. This tool produces grayscale.

Can I convert several PDFs to grayscale at once?

Yes. Select several PDFs, and each one is converted. They download together in one ZIP file.

Will the text in my PDF still be searchable?

Yes, in a normal PDF. Text stays text after the conversion. A scanned PDF is an image, so use OCR on it if you need searchable text.

Can I turn a grayscale PDF back into color?

No. The color information is removed, so keep a copy of the original file.