New Computer Can't Print PDFs in Grayscale

Report · Jun 10, 2025

I just received a new computer from work and tried printing a document in grayscale that had color. Even after checking the box to print in grayscale in print options, it still came out color. I tested printing in another application and it came out black & white as requested. I went into Color Management to see if grayscale needed to be enabled, but after changing the grayscale profile, I now receive a "This document could not be printed" pop-up.

How do I fix this to enable grayscale printing? I should note I had Adobe Reader pre-installed but the program downloaded and installed full Acrobat after I signed in.

Report · Jun 10, 2025

Hi @Nicholas23155735myfo,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble with printing PDFs in grayscale.

Would you mind going to Print > Advanced > toggling the checkbox "Print as Image" and then try again?

Looks like the printer is treating the page as an image, and thus preventing the file to be printed in different colors.

If this doesn't work, please share a few pieces of information for further investigation:

1. The app version of Acrobat you use (go to Menu > Help > About Acrobat);

2. The OS and its version;

3. A sample file where you experience the issue;

4. Help us gather logs from your machine: https://adobe.ly/4l1gBRA. Please make sure Procmon is selected. You can upload logs using this tool and share your Unique log ID with us.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Souvik.

Report · Jun 10, 2025

Tried to access this but Acrobat is now crashing when I go to Advanced print options. This is version 25.001.20521. I attached a sample file here. Trying a repair install first but will send the logs after that is done.

Report · Jun 11, 2025

One update here: I had Acrobat re-installed and still had the issue. It looks like the preview pane does not change to greyscale when the box to do so is checked, regardless of printer selected. However, if I go into my printer preferences and change to greyscale printing, it does print in greyscale. The issue is the checkbox in the Acrobat print dialogue does not temporarily change the print settings for the selected printer.

Report · Jun 19, 2025

Hi @Nicholas23155735myfo,

Thanks for the information.

In such a case, I would suggest checking if the printer drivers are updated to their respective latest versions.

Also, if you are on the latest version of Windows, you might want to try Windows Protected Print, which offers better results.

More info here: https://adobe.ly/3ZFGUE6.

Regards,
Souvik.