Grayscale PDF — Convert to Black & White
Turn any colour PDF into clean black & white — perfect for printing, saves ink, completely private.
- 1Upload your colour PDF
- 2Every page is converted to grayscale in your browser
- 3Download the black-and-white PDF instantly
Grayscale PDF
Upload a PDF file to get started — everything runs privately in your browser.
Drag & drop your PDF here
or click to browse from your computer
Why use pdflu for this?
pdflu converts your PDF to grayscale entirely in your browser — no upload, no server, no sign-up. Colour pages become clean black-and-white versions ready for economical printing.
Printing colour documents on a mono laser printer often produces muddy, dark results. Converting to proper grayscale first gives you crisp, controlled output and can significantly reduce ink and toner costs.
Tips for best results
- Grayscale conversion is ideal before printing on black-and-white laser printers
- Documents with light colour text may become faint — check the preview before printing
- The output is image-based, so file size may change depending on page complexity
- For the smallest black-and-white file, run Compress PDF after converting
- Charts and graphs with colour-coded lines may be harder to distinguish in grayscale
Frequently Asked Questions
Why convert a PDF to grayscale before printing?
Colour PDFs printed on mono printers are auto-converted by the printer driver, often with poor results. Converting to grayscale first gives you predictable, crisp output and can reduce colour ink usage on inkjet printers.
Will text stay sharp after grayscale conversion?
Yes for normal-sized text. Because the conversion renders pages as images, extremely small text may lose a little sharpness. Standard document text remains clearly readable.
Does grayscale reduce my PDF file size?
Sometimes. Grayscale image data is smaller than colour, but the conversion renders pages as images which can offset the savings. Run Compress PDF afterwards for maximum size reduction.
Is the text still selectable after conversion?
No. Pages are rendered as grayscale images, so text becomes part of the image. If you need selectable text, keep your original colour version for editing.
Is my PDF uploaded to any server for conversion?
No. All rendering and conversion happens inside your browser. The file never leaves your device.