Grayscale Image
Turn colour photos black and white.
About this tool
Grayscale Image turns a colour photo into black and white as soon as you open it. Use the contrast slider or the High-contrast preset for a dramatic look, or sepia for an old-photo tone. It is also handy before printing on a mono printer. Your files are processed on your own device. Nothing is uploaded to our servers.
How to use Grayscale Image
- Choose an image.
- It turns black and white straight away; adjust contrast or try a preset.
- Download the grayscale image.
Questions people ask
How is a colour turned into gray?
Each pixel becomes a weighted mix of its red, green and blue: about 21% red, 72% green and 7% blue (the Rec. 709 weights). Green counts most because our eyes are most sensitive to it.
Does grayscale make the file smaller?
A little, because there is less colour detail to compress. The file still has three colour channels, so it will not be one third of the size.
What is the difference between grayscale and pure black and white?
Grayscale keeps all shades of gray. Pure black and white has only two colours. For a strong two-tone look, use the High-contrast preset and push contrast further.