Black and White PDF
Threshold every page to pure black-and-white for fax-style output. Runs entirely in your browser, so your data never leaves your device.
Drop a PDF here, or click to browse
Files never leave your device
Output
The result appears here as you type.
How to use Black and White PDF
- 1. Load the PDF. Drop your document into the workspace. Each page is rendered internally so it can be reduced to pure black and white.
- 2. Set the threshold. Adjust Threshold to control which pixels turn black versus white. A lower value keeps more detail dark, a higher value pushes more of the page toward white.
- 3. Set the render DPI. Choose Render DPI for how finely each page gets rasterized before thresholding. Higher DPI preserves fine text and lines but produces a larger file.
- 4. Download the bitonal PDF. Generate and save the file. Every page is now pure black and white, like a page that went through a fax machine.
When to use Black and White PDF
Black and White PDF thresholds every page down to pure black and white pixels, producing fax-style, bitonal output. It is for documents that need to be sent through systems expecting monochrome scans, or that just need a hard, high-contrast look.
- Preparing a document for a fax gateway. Some legacy fax-to-email services expect strictly bitonal input and render color scans poorly. Thresholding a PDF to pure black and white first gets a cleaner result out the other end.
- Reducing file size for archival scans. A grayscale scan of an old paper document takes up more space than it needs to for text-only content. Thresholding it to black and white shrinks the file while keeping text legible.
- Matching the look of an old photocopy. A document needs to visually resemble a photocopied original for a mockup or historical reference. Pushing it to pure black and white gives it that stark, high-contrast appearance.
About the Black and White PDF tool
Black and White PDF does its work locally, right in the browser. Threshold every page to pure black-and-white for fax-style output. There is no upload step, no queue and no account, and your data never travels over the network.
It belongs to the PDF Tools collection on EditSafely, a set of 92 small, focused PDF utilities that share the same instant, private workspace.
You can shape the output with 2 settings, including Threshold and Render DPI, and the result refreshes the moment you change one. The finished file is put together in browser memory and saved with the Download button, so it never touches a server on the way to your disk.
Running locally also makes the tool fast and dependable: results appear as you type or drop a file, there is no server outage that can take it down mid-task, and confidential data can be processed without a second thought.
Frequently asked questions
Is Black and White PDF free to use?
Yes, it is completely free. All 2,658 tools on EditSafely work without an account, a subscription or usage limits.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
Everything happens locally. Your browser downloads the tool's code once, then does all the processing itself; nothing you enter is transmitted, stored or logged. You can even go offline after the page loads and it will still work.
Which files does Black and White PDF accept?
It accepts PDF documents. There is no file size cap imposed by a server; very large files are limited only by your device's memory.
Do I need to sign up or install anything?
No. The tool works in any modern browser on desktop, tablet or phone. There is no account to create, no extension to add and no software to install.
How do I save the output?
Click the Download button once the result is ready. The file is built in your browser's memory and handed straight to your downloads folder, without passing through a server.