Single PDF file
Increase if background looks grey, decrease if text looks faded
LovelyPDF uses PDF.js to render each page at high resolution, applies a luminance-weighted grayscale formula directly on the canvas, then repackages the result into a new PDF using pdf-lib — entirely inside your browser. Nothing is uploaded to any server.
Will text stay sharp after grayscale conversion?
Yes. Pages are rendered at high DPI before converting. Use 200 DPI for very small print or footnotes.
Can I restore colour after converting?
No — colour is permanently discarded. Always keep a copy of your original before using this tool.
Does this work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. The tool renders every page including scanned images and applies grayscale to the rendered result.
My admit card has a photo — will it look okay?
Yes. Passport-style photos convert well to grayscale at 150 DPI or higher.
Conversion happens entirely in your browser. PDF.js renders each page at the chosen DPI, the luminance formula is applied on the canvas, and pdf-lib packages the result into a new PDF — all without your file touching any server. Personal documents such as admit cards, hall tickets, and government-issued certificates are processed and discarded locally.
No account or subscription is required. The grayscale and black-and-white conversion features are free and unlimited — there is no page cap, no watermark on the output, and no sign-up form to fill out. Open the tool, upload your PDF, and download the converted file immediately.
LovelyPDF works in any modern browser on any device. Whether you need to convert a coloured admit card before printing on a monochrome printer at a school computer lab, or reduce the ink cost of a large report on your home printer, the tool is accessible from any phone, tablet, or desktop without installation.
Grayscale preserves all 256 shades from pure white to pure black — photographs, gradients, and shaded areas look natural. Black & White applies a threshold: every pixel becomes either pure black or pure white, which is ideal for printed text documents and stamped forms where you want maximum contrast. A threshold slider lets you fine-tune where the cutoff falls between light and dark areas.
Usually yes for colour-heavy PDFs. Embedded colour photos contain three colour channels; grayscale images contain one. The reduction in pixel data typically produces a 30–60% smaller file for colour-photograph-heavy PDFs at the same DPI. Text-only PDFs that store characters as vector paths rather than images change very little in size because the conversion rasterises those pages.
No — colour information is permanently discarded during the conversion. Once a document has been converted to grayscale or black-and-white, the original colour data cannot be recovered from the output file. Always keep a copy of your original before converting if you may need the colour version again.
Yes. The tool renders every page including embedded photos and applies the grayscale or B&W conversion to the rendered result. Passport-style photos convert cleanly at 150 DPI or higher. Use Grayscale mode (not Black & White) for photos — the tonal shading is preserved and faces remain recognisable.