Converting
How to Scan a Document in Black and White
Capture a clean black-and-white scan of any paper page with your phone and save a small, crisp PDF. Free, in-browser, no sign-up.
Hamza M.
PDF Workflow Editor
Scanning in black and white — monochrome, not grayscale — collapses every shade to ink or white. The payoff is a dramatically smaller file, cleaner text that OCR reads more accurately, and scans that feel formal for receipts, contracts and forms. Many printers and scanners make you dig through driver settings to get true black and white. Your phone can do it in one tap.
Why scan in black and white at all
- Tiny file sizes. Every page is just dark and light, so a whole contract fits in an email as easily as a short photo.
- Sharper letters. High-contrast text is easier for OCR and for any reader on a phone screen.
- Consistent documents. No color tint, shadows or crayon marks turning an otherwise serious page into a photo.
Grayscale keeps the gray steps in between, which suits pencil sketches or faded documents. True black and white is the right choice when the page is mostly printed text or ink.
Scan with your phone camera
- 1Open the document scanner and capture the page, or grab it from your photo library.
- 2At the review step, apply the Black & White (B&W) filter.
- 3Confirm the scan, keep snapping pages or save, then download the PDF.
The filter is applied while capturing, so the file saves in black and white from the start — no second editing tool between you and the download.
When to choose colored or grayscale instead
Anything where color carries information — a passport page, a form with official stamps, a highlighted price list — must stay in color, because black and white throws that information away. Faded or pencil originals live happily in grayscale, which keeps faint detail that a black-and-white threshold would erase.
Do it now
Scan PDF
Scan documents with your camera and save as PDF. It runs in this browser tab — your file is not uploaded anywhere.
Open Scan PDFFrequently asked questions
Is a black-and-white scan smaller than a color one?+
Yes, often dramatically. Every page is only ink and white instead of millions of shades, so files shrink and still print cleanly.
Does black and white help OCR accuracy?+
Usually. High-contrast text gives the OCR engine sharply separated characters to read, which reduces errors on typical printed documents.
What is the difference from grayscale?+
Grayscale keeps the gray steps between white and black; black and white is two tones only. Use grayscale for pencil or faded originals and black and white for printed text and ink.
Can I convert a PDF I already have to black and white?+
The scanner applies black and white while capturing a page, so it fits originals in front of you. An existing color PDF is better re-exported from its source or printed and rescanned.
Should colored stamps or highlights be scanned black and white?+
No — anything where color carries information, like stamps, flags or highlights, should be scanned in color or grayscale so the detail is not lost.