I need to turn a color PDF into black and white before printing its 30 pages. Can I change the file itself rather than just the printer settings?
I agree, it is annoying when the printer setting is not enough. Honestly, I would not search for a dedicated PDF editor for one job. Open the PDF in Chrome or Edge, choose Print, set the destination to Save as PDF, and set the color to Black and white. That gives you a new black and white file to print.
Easiest free way is to print the PDF to a new PDF with grayscale ticked. In the print dialog pick Microsoft Print to PDF, check Print in grayscale, and you get a balck and white copy as a new file. If you have Acrobat Pro, Print Production then Convert Colors does it properly. On Windows or Mac?
Yes, use a PDF editor with a grayscale or “convert colours to grey” option, then save it as a new PDF before printing. I’d keep the original untouched, as some converters make tables and light text hard to read.
If your computer offers “Print to PDF,” choose grayscale or black and white in the print settings, then save the result as a new PDF. Check 1 or 2 pages first, since pale colored text can become hard to read. Avoid overwriting the original color file.
@cameron2002 That is such a solid trick. I use the Microsoft Print to PDF method for my venue comtracts all the time when vendors need them in grayscale. It saves so much ink and is super simple to do. Have you ever noticed if it alters the page margins at all?
@rando72836 Margins usually stay put if you pick Actual size instead of Fit to page in the print dialog, that’s what shifts things. I always keep a copy of the original colour file too, just in case. Worth testing on 2 pages before doing all 30.
If you have Acrobat, use Print Production > Convert Colors and set it to grayscale, then save as a new PDF. If not, free tool like PDFcap can convert it to black and white directly without needing a full Acrobat license.