Grayscale
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Definition
Section titled “Definition”Grayscale conversion replaces color values with shades of gray. Two different results carry the same name: converting the whole page, which rasterizes it and makes text non-selectable, and converting only the embedded images, which leaves the text layer intact. The distinction matters for anyone who plans to search, select, or convert the document afterward.
Example
Section titled “Example”An internal print run of a color product catalog. Printed in grayscale on a toner printer, the run costs a fraction of the color version. If the file was converted image-only, the catalog’s text stays selectable and the parts index still works; if the whole page was rasterized, the same printed pages arrive but the PDF no longer supports text search.
In the PDFLean tools
Section titled “In the PDFLean tools”- convert a PDF to grayscale — offers the whole-page and the image-only paths
Related reading
Section titled “Related reading”- Raster and Vector — why the two grayscale paths produce different files
- Lossless and Lossy Compression — where grayscale sits in a size-reduction sequence
- Compress PDFs — the family hub for size and print preparation