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Convert a PDF to black and white to save ink

Published 2026-10-23 · How-to

A full color PDF is expensive to print: color ink and toner cost several times more than black, and every page full of images empties a cartridge fast. Converting the file to black and white changes that, cutting the cost of a print job and shrinking the file size too. Here is how to turn a PDF into grayscale and how to know when it is the right choice.

Why black and white costs so much less to print

Printer color is by far the most expensive part of a print job. A color laser toner cartridge can cost as much as a new printer, and a single page covered in images burns through it quickly, while plain black toner is cheap and lasts. For office print runs, invoices and drafts, the same document printed in grayscale is a fraction of the cost. The savings are biggest on documents with photos or heavy backgrounds, exactly the files where an ink penalty is usually wasted on content nobody needs in color.

What grayscale actually does to a PDF

Converting a PDF to black and white does not just remove color, it changes how the page prints and how the file weighs. Grayscale keeps every line and letter intact and readable, so the document stays perfectly legible, while the colors on the page become shades of gray. For text and drawings nothing is lost. Photos become black and white, which is fine for reference material but loses color coding and mood, so keep that limitation in mind before you convert.

Print in grayscale without changing the file

The quickest way is to leave the file alone and pick grayscale in the print dialog. Almost every printer driver has a Grayscale or Black and white option, and choosing it prints the color PDF in black instead of color, with no change to the original document. You keep the color file for later use. Check the page size and orientation match first using the A4 and Letter sizing guide, and set the same border handling as any other borderless or full-bleed job.

Create a permanent black and white copy

When you want a reusable grayscale file, not just one printed copy, you can build one. The PDF to image tool turns each page into a clean grayscale picture, and the images to PDF tool reassembles those pages into a single black and white PDF. The result prints in grayscale and is genuinely black and white in the file itself, ready to email or reuse without touching the color original.

When black and white is the wrong choice

Grayscale is not always the answer. Charts, maps, product materials and anything where color carries meaning lose information in black and white, and a color print is the only honest way to show them. Branded documents also keep their style better in color. If the audience needs the color, keep the PDF as it is and only use grayscale printing for your own copies, not for the file you share.

Finish with a lighter, safer file

A black and white version is usually far smaller than the color original, because most of the bulk of a color PDF is in the colored image data that grayscale drops. Squeeze it further with compress PDF to get a file that emails in seconds, following the same limits as email attachment size rules. If you plan to send it to a client or a printer, protect the PDF so the ready-to-print version cannot be changed.