Grayscale PDF
Turn the colors of a PDF into shades of gray. Text stays text.
How to use it
- Drop one or more PDFs onto the page.
- Choose the pages, or leave it on all.
- Press Make it gray and download the result. A file with several PDFs is downloaded as a ZIP.
Questions
Does it make the file smaller?
No. The colors stay in the file, and a gray layer on top removes them when the page is shown or printed, so the file stays about the same size. Making a file smaller means re-saving its pictures, which this tool does not do.
Is the result black and white, or gray?
Gray. Each color becomes the gray of the same brightness, the way a black-and-white photo is made, so a light yellow stays light and a dark blue stays dark. There is no cut-off that turns everything into pure black or pure white.
Can I still select and search the text?
Yes. Nothing on the page is turned into a picture, so text, links and bookmarks work as before.
Can I get the colors back?
Not with this tool, so keep your original. The result is a new file; your original is not changed.
Will every PDF viewer show it?
The effect uses blend modes, which are part of the PDF standard since version 1.4 (2001) and are shown by current viewers and browsers. Very old viewers, and some print systems, ignore them and show the original colors. Open the result in the program you will use before you print many pages.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The file is changed in your browser, on your device.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. This tool runs in your browser, so your files stay on your device and are never sent to a server.
Is it free?
Yes, you can use it for free. A subscription removes limits and unlocks premium tools.