Grayscale PDF
Convert to black & white to save ink.
About this tool
Convert a PDF to grayscale for printing, right in your browser. Pages become images: text is no longer selectable, and text-based PDFs usually get larger.
This tool processes files entirely on your device. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
More details
Grayscale PDF returns a copy of your document in which every page is shades of gray. Each page is drawn to an image and every pixel becomes a weighted brightness value that counts green most and blue least, so pure red and pure green end up as two distinct grays rather than one. The gray images go into a new PDF, each page at the size the original displays at.
The conversion runs in your browser using a bundled copy of pdf.js, and your PDF is not uploaded to pdf.xyz: the file you choose is read into memory on your device, and the result is saved as a download named after the original with "-grayscale" added. The picker takes one PDF of up to 100 MB.
Because every page becomes a picture (a lossless image for text-heavy pages, a JPEG for photographic ones, whichever is smaller), the result is a copy for printing or submitting, not for editing. Selectable text, sharp vector lines, links and bookmarks do not carry over, and the new file is titled after the original's own title, or its file name if it has none, with "(grayscale)" added. Form fields or comments are painted in from their saved appearance, so they can no longer be filled in or clicked. The new file's size follows the page count, the resolution you pick and how busy each page is, so a short text-only file can grow while a photo-heavy one can shrink. Keep the original alongside it.
When to use it
Printing on a monochrome laser printer
Colored charts, highlighted rows and brand-colored headings can collapse into similar gray blocks when a printer driver desaturates them. Converting first gives you a gray copy to inspect on screen, and printing that copy sends the printer gray pixels instead of leaving the color-to-gray mapping to its driver.
Portals that ask for grayscale uploads
Some application forms and document portals ask for grayscale files. This gives you a gray copy of a PDF you already have without re-scanning the paper. Its page images are stored in the single-channel grayscale (DeviceGray) color space, which is what a portal that inspects the file's declared color space looks for.
Checking a chart before black-and-white handouts
Two data series told apart only by hue, with similar brightness, will look almost identical in the output. That flags a chart that needs patterns or direct labels before it is photocopied.
Toning down a scanned color document
Receipts and forms scanned in color often carry a yellow or blue cast from the paper. In the gray version that cast becomes a light gray, so the page no longer looks tinted.
What this tool can do
- Quality
- Screen (96 DPI) or Print (150 DPI) — the resolution each page is rendered at.
- Raster output
- Every page becomes a grayscale image, so text is no longer selectable or searchable, and links, bookmarks and form fields are not carried over.
- Undecodable images
- An image your browser cannot decode comes out blank, and the result says how many did.
How it works
1Add your PDF
Drag a single PDF into the dashed box, or click "browse" and choose it. Anything over 100 MB, empty, not a PDF, or encrypted is refused with a reason.
2Pick the output quality
Under "Output quality", choose Screen (96 DPI) or Print (150 DPI). Print is selected by default; Screen renders fewer pixels per page and usually gives a smaller file.
3Convert to grayscale
Press "Convert to grayscale". A progress line counts pages as each is rendered and turned gray; the new PDF is assembled after the last one.
4Download the result
Press "Download grayscale PDF". The summary shows how many pages were rasterized and the new file size, with a warning if any source image could not be decoded.
Common questions
Does converting to grayscale send my PDF anywhere?
No. Rendering, the gray conversion and building the new PDF all happen in your browser tab, and the file is not sent to pdf.xyz. The PDF engines themselves are fetched from the site when you choose a file and when you press Convert to grayscale, so stay online until the conversion finishes; saving the finished file needs no connection.
Can I still select or search the text after converting?
No. Each page is stored as one image, so the text is part of the picture. OCR PDF can add a recognized text layer to the gray copy, and the Print setting gives it more pixels to read. Unlike this tool, OCR PDF uploads the file over TLS to pdf.xyz's secure server; there the input is deleted when the job finishes, the result's download link expires after 60 minutes, and a daily storage rule erases the stored copy after that.
What is the difference between Screen and Print?
They set how many pixels each page is drawn at: 96 DPI for Screen, 150 DPI for Print. Screen suits reading on a monitor and keeps the file lighter; Print keeps small type and fine lines crisper on paper. There is also a ceiling on how many pixels one side of a page may be drawn at, so the browser does not run out of memory: a poster-size page can come out with fewer pixels than the setting asks for, and Print reaches that ceiling on smaller pages than Screen does.
Will a print shop's preflight check see the file as grayscale?
Yes, by color space. Every page image is stored as a single-channel grayscale (DeviceGray) image: either losslessly compressed or a one-channel JPEG, whichever is smaller for that page. Nothing on the page is drawn in color, so a preflight check that reads the declared color space reports grayscale, not RGB. The pages are images, though, so a check that also expects live text or vector artwork will not find any. Keep the original for that.
Does it work on password-protected PDFs?
No. Any encrypted PDF is turned away as soon as you choose it, and the message says which lock it has. One that needs a password to open is called password-protected. One that opens without a password but carries an owner password restricting printing or copying is told it has editing restrictions instead. Unlock PDF strips the encryption if you give it the open password, or the owner password for one of those restricted files; its password box cannot be left blank. Unlock PDF is not in-browser: the file and password go over TLS to pdf.xyz's secure server, the input is deleted when the job finishes, the unlocked copy's link lasts 60 minutes, and a daily storage rule erases it after that. Bring the unlocked copy back here.
Why does the result say some images could not be decoded?
The renderer reports embedded pictures it could not decode, and each one is left out of the gray page rather than guessed at. The result screen gives the count; the rest of those pages converted normally, so open them in the downloaded file and decide whether the gap matters before you rely on it.
Does Grayscale PDF work offline?
Not fully. The page and its processing engine load over the network, and parts of the engine are fetched the first time a step needs them. The processing itself runs on your device. Rendering a page that holds a JPEG 2000 or JBIG2 image, as scanned documents often do, downloads an image decoder from our site the first time it is needed, and that step needs a connection. Chinese, Japanese or Korean text whose font is not embedded in the PDF needs a character map, downloaded from our site the first time it is needed, and that step needs a connection.
How large can my file be?
Up to 100 MB per file.
Can I still select and search the text after converting?
No. Every page is rendered to a grayscale image and the PDF is rebuilt from those images, so text, links and form fields become part of the picture. Keep your original for anything you need to search or copy.
What resolution does Grayscale PDF use?
You choose: Screen (96 DPI) or Print (150 DPI). The higher setting gives sharper pages and a larger file.
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