# How to convert colour pdf to black and white?

**URL:** <https://community.pdfsuite.io/t/how-to-convert-colour-pdf-to-black-and-white/123>\
**Category:** Edit & Review\
**Tags:** office\
**Created:** [November 8, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://community.pdfsuite.io/t/how-to-convert-colour-pdf-to-black-and-white/123 "2026-11-08T22:10:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![crazy\_grandpa](https://community.pdfsuite.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@crazy\_grandpa](https://community.pdfsuite.io/u/crazy_grandpa)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://community.pdfsuite.io/t/how-to-convert-colour-pdf-to-black-and-white/123/1 "2026-11-08T22:10:16Z")

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I have a 30-page presentation saved as a PDF that I need to send to a local print shop, and they charge way less if the file is already in grayscale. Is there a simple way to turn a color PDF into black and white on a Mac without messing up the text quality?

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**Author:** ![patient\_midnight](https://community.pdfsuite.io/user_avatar/community.pdfsuite.io/patient_midnight/32/25_2.png) [@patient\_midnight](https://community.pdfsuite.io/u/patient_midnight)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://community.pdfsuite.io/t/how-to-convert-colour-pdf-to-black-and-white/123/2 "2026-11-08T22:10:20Z")

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I had the same issue with a price list: on a Mac, open a copy in Preview, choose File \> Export, then select the “Gray Tone” Quartz Filter before saving. The text stays sharp, but check a few pages afterward because light-colored images or backgrounds can become hard to read.

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**Author:** ![guest.238671](https://community.pdfsuite.io/user_avatar/community.pdfsuite.io/guest.238671/32/38_2.png) [@guest.238671](https://community.pdfsuite.io/u/guest.238671)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 4:43am UTC](https://community.pdfsuite.io/t/how-to-convert-colour-pdf-to-black-and-white/123/3 "2026-11-10T04:43:06Z")

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On a Mac you can open it in Preview, go to File then Export, and choose Quartz Filter then Grayscale from the dropdown. Text stays sharp since it’s not flattening into an image. Does that option show up for you?