Print PDFs ink-saving: grayscale conversion and compression
2 min read·25 July 2026
Color ink is expensive. With the right PDF settings you can print documents while saving significantly on ink costs per page.
Why grayscale printing is cheaper
Color ink (cyan, magenta, yellow) costs on average 3–6 times more per page than black ink. For purely informational documents — reports, letters, contracts — color is unnecessary. Converting a PDF to grayscale before printing forces the printer to use black ink even if it defaults to mixed-color output.
Create a grayscale PDF with PDFrust
Upload your colored PDF to the Grayscale tool on PDFrust. The result is an identical document with all colors converted to shades of gray. Choose specific pages or convert the entire document. Download and send to your printer.
PDF grayscale
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Reduce file size
Colored PDFs with images or charts are often large. Converting to grayscale first and then compressing maximizes file size reduction. Use the Compress tool after grayscale conversion. If printing digitally (via email or intranet), a smaller file size also benefits recipients.
Merge for batch printing
Printing multiple documents at once? First convert them all to grayscale, merge them with the Merge tool, and print the combined document in one go. This saves time for large print batches.
When color is still needed
Marketing materials, client presentations and color-coded images (charts, maps) do benefit from color printing. Use grayscale selectively: enable it for office documents and internal use, save color for external communication.
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