PDF / Convert
Grayscale PDF: Convert a Colour PDF to Black and White
Convert a colour PDF to grayscale in your browser: each page is rendered at the resolution you choose, turned to shades of grey by brightness, and saved at its original page size, ready to print on a black-and-white printer or check how charts look without colour.
Grayscale PDF: Convert a Colour PDF to Black and White: Each pixel becomes a grey of the same brightness, weighting green most and blue least, as the eye does: pure red becomes a dark grey of 76 out of 255, and white stays white. Because pages are rebuilt as images, text can no longer be selected or searched. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
- Category
- PDF tools
- Runs
- In your browser
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
Nothing is uploaded
Each page is drawn as an image, turned to shades of grey by brightness, and saved at its original size. Text becomes part of the image, so it can no longer be selected or searched; keep the original. Pages render one at a time while this tab is open. Nothing is uploaded.
Check charts in grey
Lines and bars that differ only by hue, such as red and green of the same brightness, become the same grey; use different shades, patterns, or labels so they still read in print.
Smaller files
To shrink a scanned PDF without changing its colours, use compress PDF.
How to use it
- Choose a PDF.
- Pick a resolution: 150 dpi for screen, 300 dpi for print.
- Download the grayscale PDF.
Privacy & limitations
Your PDF is converted in your browser and never uploaded.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I select text afterwards?
Changing colours inside a PDF's own drawing instructions is not possible here, so each page is redrawn as a picture; keep the original for searching and copying.
Which resolution should I choose?
150 dpi is sharp on screen and small; 300 dpi gives crisp printed text but a larger file.
Will it save ink?
It stops a colour printer from using colour cartridges for this document, but dark areas still use black ink.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required