Convert PDF to Grayscale
Remove colour from a PDF and keep every shade of grey — great for printing and smaller scans. Page sizes kept, works offline. Free, nothing is uploaded.
- No upload — 100% private
- Instant, on your device
- Free, no sign-up
- Works offline once loaded
How it works
How to use Convert PDF to Grayscale
Drop your PDF — Grayscale is preselected and every page will be converted.
Keep 200 DPI for documents with small print, or choose 150 DPI for a smaller file.
Click Compress scanned PDF, check the After preview and download the grayscale PDF.
Why use it
Why use our Convert PDF to Grayscale tool
Keeps every shade
Signatures, stamps, pencil and photos stay natural in up to 256 shades of grey.
Cleaner paper
Optional whitening turns yellowed or grey scan backgrounds pure white, which also shrinks the file.
Printer friendly
A grayscale PDF prints the same on every printer, without unexpected colour charges at print shops.
Page layout preserved
Page sizes, rotation and page order stay exactly as in the original PDF.
Private and free
Everything runs in your browser — no upload, no account and no watermark.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does converting to grayscale make my PDF smaller?
Usually yes for scans and photos, because colour information is dropped and the page is recompressed. A PDF that is mostly typed text may grow, since text pages become images — keep the original in that case.
Can I keep typed text selectable while converting?
Untick “Also convert text pages to images”. Pages with real text are then kept as they are (in their original colours), and only scanned pages are converted to grayscale.
Should I choose grayscale or black and white?
Choose grayscale for photos, signatures, stamps and handwriting. Choose black and white for clean typed documents when you want the smallest possible file.
Will my grayscale PDF print correctly?
Yes. The pages contain only grey image data, so any printer outputs them in black toner or ink only.
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