How to Print in B&W? | Monochrome Output Guide

Printing in black and white is a driver-level setting, which means the exact menu name shifts depending on your printer brand, operating system, and software. In Word on Windows, the path runs through File > Print > Printer Properties, where the color options appear. On a Mac, the same controls hide inside the expanded print dialog under a printer-specific menu. The labels you will see — Grayscale, Black and White, Monochrome, Black/Grayscale, or Black Only — all accomplish the same thing. The one constant is that you are telling the printer driver to ignore color inks and render everything in shades of black.

Where the Black and White Setting Lives in Windows and Mac

Both major operating systems route the grayscale option through the printer driver rather than the application. Microsoft’s support documentation confirms the available choices are specific to the printer you have installed, so the exact wording varies. On Windows, open your document, select Print, choose your printer, then click Printer Properties or Preferences. Look for a tab labeled Paper/Quality, Color, or Quality and select the black-and-white or grayscale option.

On a Mac, the process follows the same logic. Open the print dialog, expand it with Show Details if the controls are hidden, then pick a printer-specific menu such as Printer Features, Print Settings, or Xerox Features. The grayscale toggle sits inside that menu. Some applications, like Adobe Reader and Acrobat Standard, lack a built-in black-and-white print toggle entirely, so the driver settings are your only route.

Setting Monochrome as the Default on Windows

If you want every print job to come out in black and white without adjusting settings each time, change the printer’s default preferences. The current Windows path, using a Xerox example, runs through Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners. Select your printer, choose Manage, then Printing preferences. Under Printing Options or Quality, set the color mode to black and white and save. This becomes the new default for all jobs sent to that printer.

One caveat: some documents or applications can override the driver’s default. Ricoh’s guidance recommends using the driver’s black-and-white setting and, where the option exists, choosing Gray Reproduction = K (Black). That setting forces the printer to use the black toner cartridge exclusively, keeping light grays from sneaking in color toner. For HP inkjet owners, the HP Smart app provides the same control, letting you select monochrome or grayscale for individual print jobs.

How to Print in B&W From Common Apps

Microsoft Office on Windows keeps the option within reach. Navigate to File > Print, click Printer Properties, and select the color option your driver offers — color, grayscale, or black and white. The setting applies to the current job only, so you will need to repeat it for future prints unless you updated the defaults as described above.

The table below summarizes the most common routes by platform.

The real value of monochrome printing is cost and speed. Black toner typically costs less per page than color, and many printers produce black-and-white pages faster. If you print mostly text documents, setting grayscale as your default can cut your per-page costs noticeably. For printers that excel at monochrome output, a dedicated black-and-white model often delivers sharper text and lower running costs than a color all-in-one used in grayscale mode.

When a document still prints in color after you selected grayscale, the cause is usually an application override. Check the app’s own print settings first, then verify the driver setting. Microsoft’s support page notes that the options are specific to the printer, so if you cannot find the grayscale toggle in one menu, look for it under a different tab in the same properties window. Microsoft’s print in black and white guide walks through the Windows and Office path in more detail.

Forcing grayscale only affects how the printer lays down ink or toner. It does not convert your document’s colors to gray in the file itself. If you need a permanent black-and-white version of a PDF or image, that requires a separate conversion step in an editor before you print.