Convert a color PDF to greyscale in Acrobat 9
This has been driving me mental. Ever since upgrading to Snow Leopard I haven’t been able to figure out how to print a pdf so that it appears in greyscale. In other words, I want to strip colour out of the electronic document so it appears on the screen in pure greyscale with no colour. Why? Because I am posting some class lectures and the important bits are in red… but I refuse to teach to exams so when I give the notes out they aren’t highlighted. That way they have to actually read ALL the material, not just the examinable bits. AND they have to actually pay attention.
The problem is, that every time i thought I had done it…the colour was actually still there, embedded in the pdf. But, I finally figured out how to remove it permanently.
Here’s how to convert a color PDF file to grayscale in Acrobat 9 Pro.
1. Open a color PDF file in Acrobat 9 Pro. The file may contain a mix of CMYK, RGB or spot color objects.
2. Choose Advanced > Print Production > Preflight.
3. Select the Convert to Grayscale PDF Fixup, and then click the Analyze and Fix button.
4. Give the file a name and location, and click the Save button. The entire PDF file will be converted to grayscale.
Ta Da! Now I know where to find the information when I have to do it again…right here!