How to Get a PDF to Print in Color When It Keeps Coming Out Gray
Windows 11, macOS, iOS, and Android; printer menus described generically · Last checked · Suggest an edit
https://instructions.wiki/printers/get-a-pdf-to-print-in-color
The PDF is full of color on screen, the printer has color ink, and the page comes out gray. Something in the chain is set to grayscale: the PDF itself, the app's print dialog, the printer driver's saved default, or the printer's own panel, and the driver default is the one that keeps winning after you fix the dialog. Check each in order.
Confirm the PDF contains color
Zoom in on screen. A PDF that was scanned or exported in grayscale has no color to print, and no setting will add it. If the zoomed page is shades of gray, go back to the source document and export or scan it again with color on.
Untick grayscale in the print dialog
In Adobe Acrobat Reader, press Ctrl + P and untick Print in grayscale (black and white). In Chrome or Edge, click More settings and set Color to Color. In other viewers, open the printer options inside the dialog and look for a Color or Grayscale choice. Print again.
Change the driver's default to color (Windows)
Go to Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners, click the printer, then Printing preferences. On the Color or Paper/Quality tab (the name varies by brand), select Color and click OK. Every app starts from this default, so a grayscale value here overrides the dialog on the next job.
Change the default and save a preset (Mac)
Press Cmd + P, open the options section of the dialog (labeled Quality & Media, Color Matching, or Printer Options depending on the driver), and choose Color or turn off Grayscale. Then open the Presets menu, choose Save Current Settings as Preset, and pick that preset for future jobs.
Check the printer's own panel
Some printers carry a default color mode on the front panel under a Setup or Print Settings menu. If it reads Mono, Grayscale, or Black only, change it to Color or Auto. This default applies to every computer that prints to it.
If color ink is low. Many printers switch to black only when a color cartridge is empty or unrecognized, and some print a gray page rather than refuse the job. Replace the cartridge.
If an Eco or toner-save mode is on. These modes force grayscale on some models. Turn them off in Printing preferences or on the printer's panel.