Convert PDF to Grayscale / B&W
Color PDFs burn through ink and photocopy poorly, and some submissions require a black-and-white version. Each page is converted to grayscale (keeps shading) or pure black & white (maximum ink saving) — entirely locally in your browser; your file is never uploaded.
Drop your file here
or choose from your device — no sign-up needed
Choose filesFiles are processed locally in your browser — never uploaded to any server
Details
Full-release pricing preview: $6.9/mo or $49/yr · 30-day email notice before billing starts · nothing is charged during the beta
How it works (3 steps)
Upload a color PDF
Pick "Grayscale" to keep photo shading, or "Pure black & white" for maximum ink savings.
Local page-by-page conversion
Each page is rendered in your browser at high resolution and converted by luminance, with visible progress.
Download the B&W version
You get _grayscale.pdf, ready to print or submit. Failed runs are refunded automatically.
Popular searches
- print PDF in black and white to save ink
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- color PDF to black and white converter
FAQ
Can I still copy text after converting?
Honestly: no. The output is an image-based PDF re-rendered page by page — it looks identical but the text layer is not kept. Keep your original file for editing.
Try it ↑Grayscale or pure black & white — which one?
Grayscale preserves the shading of photos and backgrounds, best for documents with images; pure B&W binarizes everything and uses the least ink, best for text-only material.
Try it ↑Will the file get bigger or smaller?
It depends: vector-heavy files may grow after rasterizing, scans usually stay similar or shrink. The output size is shown after conversion.
Try it ↑Does a digital signature survive processing?
No. Any change to a signed PDF (merging, compressing, watermarking…) invalidates the existing digital signature — that is the tamper-proof design of PDF signatures, not a limit of this site. Process first, then sign.
Try it ↑Can I trust the processing engine?
Yes — and you can verify it: the tool runs on open-source in-browser engines (pdf-lib, pdf.js, Tesseract OCR…) on your own device. Open DevTools → Network while processing and you will see no file upload requests.
Try it ↑