Nouplo

Convert a PDF to grayscale

A colour PDF made grey, or pure black and white, for printing and submitting.

Drop files here

or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: PDF

Up to 3 files per runUp to 20 MB per file10 runs per dayFree PDFs end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” lineRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline

Your files stay on your device

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.

How it works

  1. Drop a colour PDF onto the box.
  2. Keep Grayscale, or choose Black and white for pages of text and line drawings.
  3. Choose the resolution: 200 dpi for most uses, 300 dpi for print work.
  4. Select Convert to grayscale and download the new PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Will the text still be selectable?
No. Each page is redrawn as a grey picture of itself, so its text can no longer be selected or searched. Keeping the text while making every colour grey would mean rewriting each page's drawing instructions, which cannot be done reliably for every PDF. If you need the text afterwards, run the grey PDF through text recognition.
Why convert to grayscale instead of printing in black?
The print dialog does it for your own printer. A grey PDF is for when the file itself must be monochrome: a submission that asks for it, a print shop that charges for colour pages, or checking how a document reads without colour.
Grayscale or black and white?
Grayscale keeps every shade, which suits photographs and charts. Black and white keeps only ink and paper, choosing the split per page, which makes text and forms crisp and the file small but turns shading into solid black or white.
Is the PDF uploaded, and what are the free limits?
It is not uploaded: each page is drawn in your browser. The free plan takes one PDF of up to 20 MB per run, 10 runs a day, and adds a small "Made with nouplo.com" line to the last page. Pro removes the line and the limits.

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