PDF to Greyscale
Make a grey version of a PDF. The standard method turns every page into a picture; the Ghostscript option converts the colours and keeps the text.
About This Tool
PDF to Greyscale makes a version of a PDF in shades of grey, for example for printing on a black-and-white printer. It offers two engines that work very differently.
"Standard", the engine the tool starts with, draws each page as a picture, turns the picture grey and puts it on a new page. Text can then no longer be selected or searched, links, bookmarks and form fields are gone, and the file usually grows, often several times over. "Quality" sets how sharp the pictures are (72, 144 or 216 DPI). If you type a "Page Range", the result contains only those pages; the rest of the document is left out. "Ghostscript" converts the colours themselves to grey and keeps text as text. It always converts the whole document and ignores "Quality" and "Page Range".
All conversion happens in your browser; the PDF is not uploaded. Ghostscript is downloaded from this site the first time you choose it (about 16 MB).
How to Use
Upload Your PDF
Drag and drop your color PDF file or click to select.
Choose the Engine and Options
Under "Greyscale Options", pick the "Rendering engine". "Ghostscript" keeps text selectable and converts the whole file. With "Standard" every page becomes a picture: choose a "Conversion Method" and a "Quality", and leave "Page Range" empty unless you want only those pages in the result. There is no preview.
Convert and Download
Click "Convert to Greyscale", wait for the progress bar, then click "Download". The file is saved with _greyscale added to its name.
Use Cases
Print Savings
Convert to greyscale to save on color printing costs.
Draft Documents
Create black-and-white drafts for review.
File Size
Do not expect a smaller file. With "Standard" the file usually grows, because every page becomes a picture. To make a PDF smaller, use Compress PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will text remain readable?
Readable, yes. With "Standard", though, text becomes part of a picture: it can no longer be selected or searched, and it looks soft when you zoom in, more so at "Low (Faster)". With "Ghostscript", text stays real text and stays sharp.
How much smaller will the file be?
Usually it is not smaller. With "Standard" each page is stored as a picture, and the file often comes out several times larger than the original. "Ghostscript" rewrites the file with grey colours, and the size can go either way. To reduce the size of a PDF, use Compress PDF.
Can I convert specific pages only?
Only with the "Standard" engine, and the result then contains only the pages you named; the other pages are not copied into it. "Ghostscript" ignores the range and converts the whole document.