Add a sepia effect to a PDF

1 min read·23 July 2026

Want to give your PDF a warm, vintage or antique look? With PDFrust's sepia tool you apply the sepia colour filter to all pages — free, without upload, directly in your browser.

What is the sepia effect?

Sepia is a warm brown colour filter originally used in early photography. It gives images a nostalgic, timeless appearance. The effect is achieved by remixing the red, green and blue channels of each pixel towards warm brown tones.

When do you use sepia?

Digital scrapbooks or photo books with a nostalgic style. Artistic presentations wanting a vintage look. Historical documents or reproductions where the style matches the content. Or simply for a creative effect.

PDF sepia effect

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Difference from black and white?

Black and white removes all colour information and gives a neutral grey image. Sepia removes colour information but adds warmth via brown tones. Sepia feels more organic and nostalgic; black and white feels more formal and modern.

Does it affect the text?

Yes, the sepia effect is applied to the entire page including text. Black text becomes dark brown, white backgrounds become cream. If you only want to affect images, the sepia tool is not suitable — it works at page level.