⚫ Grayscale PDF Client

No. To produce true grayscale, we render each page to a high-resolution canvas and apply the grayscale transform pixel by pixel. The result is a page made of one grayscale image, not vector text. Text is no longer selectable or searchable. If keeping selectable text matters more than grayscale, look for a desktop tool like Ghostscript (gs -sColorConversionStrategy=Gray) which can convert colors without rasterizing.

Often yes, especially for image-heavy documents. A grayscale JPEG has only one channel of data instead of three, so it typically compresses 20–50% smaller than the same image in color. For text-only PDFs with no embedded images, the size change is minimal because the original was already small.

Grayscale uses 256 shades from pure black to pure white — smooth gradients, good for photos, shaded diagrams, and antialiased text. Black & white (a.k.a. 1-bit or bilevel) uses only two tones — smaller file size but harsher edges and no smooth shading. This tool produces true grayscale, which prints better and looks natural.

If you need black & white output (for printing, ink savings, consistent formatting), use this tool. If you just want a smaller file and don't care about color, use Compress PDF — it preserves color and reduces size with adjustable quality.

150 DPI (Balanced) is right for most documents — readable on screen and passable for print. 200–300 DPI (High/Print) gives crisp output for photographs or fine line art. 100 DPI or lower is only for previews or scanned drafts where size matters most. Watch the live preview — if text looks blurry at your chosen DPI, bump it up.

No. Everything runs in your browser using pdf.js and pdf-lib. Your file never leaves your device. You can even run this tool offline after the page has loaded once.