Convert PDF Pages to Grayscale
Make a colour PDF black and white for printing or an upload that asks for grayscale. Your text stays real text, so it can still be searched and copied.
How to make a PDF black and white
- 1
Choose your PDF
Pick the file. It opens for the current task and is not retained by PilotPDF.
- 2
Pick how to convert
"Keep the text" is best for most files. Choose "Pages as images" only if colour must be removed from the file itself.
- 3
Download the grey copy
Check charts and anything colour-coded, then download.
Two ways to make a PDF grey
The recommended way adds a grey "saturation" layer over each page. PDF viewers combine it with the page, keeping how light or dark everything is and dropping the colour. The original text, links and pictures stay in the file, so the copy is still searchable and barely bigger than the original.
Because the original colours are still in the file underneath, a few simple apps and some e-readers that ignore this effect will show colour. When the colour has to be gone from the file itself, for example for a strict upload check, choose "Pages as images": every page is redrawn as a grey picture. The text can then no longer be selected.
When grey causes problems
Colours that are different but equally bright turn into the same grey. Red and green lines on a chart, or a colour-coded map, can become hard to tell apart. Check any page where meaning depends on colour before you send it.
Photos convert well. Light-coloured text, such as pale yellow on white, may become hard to read in grey, so look at headings and highlighted text too.
Your files are never retained by PilotPDF
PilotPDF does not keep copies of your original files, completed files, passwords, or document contents after processing.
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