Top 4 Approaches to Make a PDF Black and White Easily

PDF (Portable Document Format) is an open, cross-platform electronic file format developed by Adobe.

It can maintain consistency in text, fonts, images, and layout across various devices, and offers multiple security measures. Therefore, it is commonly used in formal files such as legal documents, business contracts, invoices, resumes, and product manuals.

A PDF file can be colorful due to the blue links, font color, images, stamps, stickers, etc. You may need to convert PDF to black and white in the following cases.

• Reduce File Size: Changing the PDF color to black and white will remove color information from a PDF, making the file size smaller. This is crucial for quick email sharing, faster uploads, and optimizing storage space on devices.
• Improve Readability and Professionalism: For documents, reports, or invoices, a black-and-white format offers a cleaner, more formal, and less distracting appearance. In addition, some official or legal documents require submission specifically in monochrome (black and white).
• Keep Consistency Across Devices: Different devices may have different color settings, which may cause PDFs to appear different to the naked eye. Grayscale ensures that complex graphics, charts, and images appear consistently across different monitors and printers, eliminating color discrepancies.
• Reduce Printing Costs: Color ink or toner is generally more expensive than black. Converting the PDF to grayscale ensures only black ink is used, cutting down expenses, especially for high-volume printing.

How to convert PDF to black and white or grayscale? Try the following methods.

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Method 1. Use MiniTool PDF Editor

MiniTool PDF Editor is a professional PDF editing, annotating, and printing tool. It can grayscale PDFs with the print feature. Here is the guide:

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1. Download and install MiniTool PDF Editor.
2. Right-click your PDF file and choose Open with > MiniTool PDF Editor.
3. Once the PDF file opens, click the printer icon in the upper left corner to open the Print window.
4. Make sure the Printer is Microsoft Print to PDF.
5. Change the Color to Grayscale.
6. Adjust other print settings, and then click the Print button.
7. A window will pop up. You need to select a location to save the print output and type a name for the file. Then, you will get a black and white PDF immediately.

Method 2. Use Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is an industry-leading PDF solution developed by Adobe. It can grayscale PDF easily. Here is the guide:

1. Open a PDF file with Adobe Acrobat.
2. Click the printer icon in the upper-right corner to open the Print window.
3. Check the box before Print in grayscale (black and white) and then click the Print button.
4. Similarly, select a location to save the print output and type a name for it.

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Method 3. Use a Browser

Most web browsers have the ability to view and print PDF files. Some of them even have limited PDF editing features. Taking Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge as examples, the process to convert PDF to grayscale should be as follows.

For Google Chrome:

1. Open a PDF file with Google Chrome.
2. Click the printer icon in the top right corner.
3. On the pop-up Print window, make sure the Destination is Microsoft Print to PDF, Colour is Black and white, and then click the Print button.
4. In the Save Print Output As window, select a place to save the PDF file, type a File name for the new PDF file, and then click Save.

For Microsoft Edge:

1. The process is almost the same. Open a PDF file with Microsoft Edge and click the printer icon in the top-right corner.
2. On the pop-up Print window, ensure the Printer is Microsoft Print to PDF and Color is Black and white. Next, click the Print button.
3. In the Save Print Output As window, select the save location and give a file name. Then click Save.

Method 4. Use Online Tools

Do you want to make PDF black and white purely, not grayscale? To change PDF colors to either 100% black or 100% white, you can try some online PDF black and white converters like Online2PDF, Super Tool, iScanner, etc. Upload your PDF file to their websites and select their black and white service. Then, download the black and white PDF file.

Further Reading:

In addition to these tools, you can also use the following method to change the PDF file to purely black and white:

1. Convert the PDF file to image files (PNG or JPG).
2. Open the image files with Paint.
3. Click File > Save as > Other format.
4. On the pop-up window, change the Save as type to Monochrome Bitmap (*.bmp; *.dib), and then save the file.
5. After that, convert these images back to PDF files and then merge them into one PDF file.

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Bottom Line

This post shows you how to convert PDF to black and white via MiniTool PDF Editor, Adobe Acrobat, browsers, and online tools. If you have problems with MiniTool PDF Editor, send an email to [email protected] for assistance.