Convert a PDF to grayscale
Print colourful slides, reports or tickets without using colour ink, or meet a request for a black and white copy. Your file stays on your device.
or drop it here
Files never leave your device · Free, no sign-up · No watermark
How to convert a PDF to grayscale
- Choose or drop the PDF.
- Select Convert to grayscale.
- Download the black and white PDF.
Text stays text
Text and vector graphics are converted to shades of grey, not turned into pictures. They stay sharp at any zoom, and you can still select and search the text. Photos are converted to grayscale JPEG images.
Limits
Gradients, patterns and some special colour spaces, such as spot colours used in professional print files, may keep their colour. Look through the result before you print a large job.
Questions about Grayscale PDF
Are my files uploaded when I convert a PDF to grayscale?
No. Scissor PDF runs a PDF engine written in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly inside your browser tab. Your files are read from your disk into the page's memory, processed there and saved back to your device. The site has no upload endpoint, and its Content Security Policy blocks the page from sending data to any other server.
Can I still search and copy the text?
Yes. Text is recoloured, not rasterised, so it remains selectable and searchable.
Why is part of my page still in colour?
Gradients, patterns and some special colour spaces, like spot colours, may not be converted. The rest of the page is.
Why not just print in grayscale?
You can, but a grayscale file looks the same on every printer and device, and it is what some offices and portals ask for.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It is free, with no account, no daily task limit and no watermark added to your documents. Because the work happens on your own computer, there is no server cost per file for us to recover.