How to Print PDF in Colour: A Practical Guide
You know that sinking feeling. Everything washed out. And out comes... Even so, grayscale. On the flip side, you hit print. Even so, you spent hours designing a flyer, presentation, or graphic. All that careful colour work, invisible.
It's one of those problems that sounds simple but has enough moving parts to drive you crazy. Printer settings, application preferences, PDF properties — it all plays a role.
So let's fix it. Still, actually, let's do more than fix it. Let's make sure you never hit that problem again.
What Does "Print PDF in Colour" Actually Mean?
Here's the thing — printing a PDF in colour isn't just about pressing a button labeled "colour." It's about making sure every layer of your system is set up to preserve those colours through the printing process.
When you print any document, your computer sends instructions to your printer. Still, the printer interprets those instructions and lays down ink or toner. For colour to work properly, the printer needs to know two things: that you're requesting colour output, and that the document actually contains colour data worth printing.
A PDF might look vibrant on your screen but contain print settings that default to grayscale. And your printer might be capable of beautiful colour output but set to "draft mode" or "black ink only. " Your application's print settings might override your printer's colour capabilities.
That's the short version. And here's what most people miss — each of these layers operates somewhat independently. So even if your printer is perfect, a wrong setting in Adobe Reader or your web browser will still give you grayscale output.
The Difference Between Your Printer and Your Application
Think of it like a relay race. Your PDF hands off colour information to your application (the viewer or browser). Your application hands it off to the printer driver. Your printer driver translates it for your specific printer. Every handoff can introduce colour loss if any link in the chain is misconfigured.
Most colour-printing problems happen at the application or driver level, not the printer itself. That's good news, because it means you can usually fix it without touching your hardware settings.
Why Getting Colour Right Actually Matters
Let me be direct: sometimes black-and-white printing is fine. Internal documents, drafts, text-heavy reports — nobody needs colour for that.
But there are situations where colour isn't optional. Infographics. Now, photographs. Architectural drawings with colour-coded elements. Design work. Practically speaking, marketing materials. Presentations where colour carries meaning or brand identity.
In those cases, printing in grayscale isn't just disappointing — it can make your work unusable. This leads to a map with a faded legend. A chart where the colour distinction between data sets is gone. A client presentation that looks amateur.
And here's what most guides skip: it's not just about the colours appearing. But it's about them appearing correctly*. There's a difference between colour printing and quality colour printing. The settings we cover below affect whether your printed colours match what you see on screen, not just whether they're visible.
How to Print a PDF in Colour: Step by Step
Let's get into the actual process. I'll walk through the most common scenarios.
Step 1: Open Your PDF in the Right Viewer
Not all PDF viewers handle colour settings the same way. In real terms, adobe Acrobat Reader (the free version) is the most reliable for consistent colour printing. It's what I'll use for these examples, but the principles apply broadly.
Open your PDF. Don't just double-click — open it in your intended viewer first. Some browsers (Chrome, Firefox) have their own PDF viewers built in, and these can sometimes override your system print settings.
Step 2: Open the Print Dialog
Hit Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on Mac. The keyboard shortcut works in virtually every application.
This is where the magic happens. In real terms, most people see "Printer," "Pages," and "Copies" and assume they're done. In real terms, they're not. You need to dig into the properties or preferences.
Step 3: Select Your Printer and Colour Settings
In the print dialog, look for a dropdown or button labeled "Properties," "Preferences," or "Printer Properties." Click it.
Here's what you'll typically find:
Paper/Quality or Color Options Tab:
- Look for a "Color" or "Colour" setting
- Select "Color" or "Automatic" (not "Grayscale" or "Black & White")
- If there's an "ICM" or "Color Management" setting, leave it on "Automatic" unless you have a specific reason to change it
Quality or Advanced Tab:
- Sometimes colour is controlled here
- Look for "Print Quality" or "Media Type" settings — higher quality settings often enable better colour rendering
- Avoid "Draft" or "Eco" modes if colour accuracy matters to you
Click "OK" to apply these settings.
Step 4: Verify Application-Level Colour Settings
This step is where people get tripped up. Go back to the main print dialog (the one with all the basic options).
Look for a checkbox or dropdown that says "Print as image" or check the "Color" settings in the main dialog itself.
In Adobe Reader, you might see a "Color Management" options under the advanced print settings. Make sure "Document Colors" is set to "Leave as is" or "Print Document Colors" rather than "Print Background Colors Off" or any grayscale conversion.
Step 5: Print a Test Page
Before printing your important document, print a test page. Most printers have a test page option in their properties menu, or you can just print the first page of your PDF.
Does it come out in colour? Great. If it doesn't, you know the problem is in the settings somewhere above, not in the PDF itself.
Common Mistakes That Cause Grayscale Output
Alright, let's talk about what's going wrong in the first place. Here are the most frequent culprits.
Assuming the printer is the problem. Nine times out of ten, the printer hardware isn't the issue. It's the settings upstream. Check your software first.
Missing the properties dialog. The basic print dialog often doesn't show colour options. You have to click through to the printer properties or preferences. This catches a lot of people off guard because the interface varies so much between different printers and applications.
Using a browser's built-in PDF viewer. Chrome and Firefox have their own PDF rendering. Sometimes they send print jobs in ways that override your colour settings. If you're having persistent problems, download the PDF first, then open it in Adobe Reader.
Not checking "Color" vs "Automatic." Some printer drivers have three options: Color, Automatic, and Grayscale. "Automatic" sounds safe, but it sometimes defaults to grayscale for certain document types. Explicitly selecting "Color" removes the ambiguity.
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Forgetting the PDF itself might be the issue. If someone sent you a PDF that was originally designed for screen display only, it might have embedded grayscale
Resetting the print queue. If you have multiple print jobs stuck in your queue, sometimes they carry over old settings. Cancel all jobs, restart the print spooler service, then try again fresh.
Saving settings without confirming. Make sure you click "OK" or "Apply" at every level, not just the top dialog. Some settings exist at the printer properties level and won't take effect unless confirmed there.
Advanced Troubleshooting Steps
If you've gone through everything above and you're still getting black and white prints, it's time to dig deeper.
Check the PDF file properties. Open the PDF in Adobe Reader and go to File > Properties. Look at the "Description" tab. Sometimes the document will explicitly state "Output Intent: Grayscale" or similar. If the file was created with a grayscale output intent, your printer will honour that regardless of your settings.
Try a different PDF viewer. Adobe Reader, Foxit, Nitro, and even Microsoft Edge all handle PDF printing slightly differently. If one isn't working, try another. This helps you isolate whether the problem is with the application or the printer driver.
Update your printer driver. Outdated drivers can cause all sorts of weird behaviour, including ignoring colour settings. Go to your printer manufacturer's website and download the latest driver for your specific model and operating system.
Test with a different document. Print something you know is definitely in colour. A photo from your computer, a webpage with coloured elements, anything. If those print in colour, the issue is specific to the PDF. If they also print in grayscale, you have a deeper driver or printer issue.
Check your colour profile settings. In the printer properties, there's often a "Color Management" or "ICC Profiles" tab. Make sure the correct profile for your printer and paper type is selected. Incorrect profiles can cause colour to render as grayscale.
Print to a different printer. If you have access to another printer, try printing the same PDF to it. This helps determine if the problem is with your specific printer or with the document/application combination.
Restart the print spooler service. On Windows, open Services, find "Print Spooler," restart it, and try again. On Mac, reset the printing system through System Preferences > Printers & Scanners. This clears out any corrupted settings.
When the PDF Itself Is the Problem
Sometimes you receive a PDF that's been designed or saved in a way that makes colour printing difficult or impossible. Here's how to handle that.
Check for transparency flattening issues. Some PDFs have transparent elements that don't render well in print. Your printer driver might interpret these as grayscale. Try enabling "Print as Image" in the print dialog, which forces the printer to treat each page as a flat image.
Look for spot colour or Pantone references. If the PDF was designed for professional printing, it might use spot colours that your home printer can't reproduce. In this case, the colours might come out incorrectly or as grayscale. Enable colour substitution in your print settings.
Convert the PDF to a different format. If you absolutely need it in colour and nothing else works, try converting the PDF to an image file (like a high-resolution JPEG or PNG) and then printing that. You lose some quality, but you'll preserve the colours.
Use a PDF editor to re-save the file. If you have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro or similar software, open the PDF and re-save it. Sometimes this clears out problematic metadata or settings. You can also try "Save As" and choose "Optimized PDF" or similar options.
Contact the sender. If the PDF came from someone else, ask them to re-export it with "Print" or "High Quality Print" settings rather than "Screen" or "Web" settings. The export settings significantly impact how the file handles colour.
Why This Problem Is So Common
You might be wondering why this issue is so widespread and frustrating. There are a few reasons.
First, printer driver interfaces are notoriously inconsistent. Every manufacturer designs their settings dialogs differently, and colour options are buried in different places. What's under "Properties" in one printer might be under "Preferences" or "Options" in another.
Second, the "Automatic" setting is misleading. It suggests that the printer will intelligently choose the best settings, but in practice, it often makes conservative choices that default to grayscale to save ink or speed up printing.
Third, application-level settings can override printer settings. Your PDF viewer might be sending the print job in a way that tells the printer to use grayscale, regardless of what you've set at the driver level.
Fourth, PDFs themselves can carry output intents and colour profiles that dictate how they should be printed. This is great for professional printing consistency, but frustrating for everyday users who just want their document to print in colour.
Preventing Future Issues
Once you've solved your immediate problem, there are steps you can take to prevent it from happening again.
Save your preferred print settings. Most printer drivers let you save a "default" or "preset" configuration. Set up your colour preferences once and save them. This way, you won't have to dig through menus every time.
Set colour as your default. In your printer preferences, look for an option to set the default print mode to colour. This is usually in the advanced or printing preferences section.
Keep your drivers updated. Set a reminder to check for driver updates every few months. Manufacturers release updates that fix bugs and improve compatibility.
Use Adobe Reader for important PDFs. While browser PDF viewers are convenient, Adobe Reader gives you more control over print settings. For critical documents, it's worth the extra step.
Test before you commit. Especially for large or important print jobs, do a test page first. This saves you from wasting paper and ink if the settings are wrong.
The Bottom Line
Colour printing from PDFs should be straightforward, but the complexity
of the printing pipeline—application, driver, operating system, and file format—creates multiple points where colour can be lost. The good news is that once you understand where to look, the fix is usually a single checkbox or dropdown menu away.
Start with the PDF viewer settings, move to the printer driver preferences, verify the document itself isn't forcing grayscale, and only then consider hardware or driver issues. Nine times out of ten, the culprit is a simple setting hiding in plain sight.
If you've worked through this guide and your printer still refuses to cooperate, it may be time to consult the manufacturer's support forums or contact their technical support directly. Some models have known firmware bugs or hardware limitations that no amount of settings tweaking can resolve.
But for the vast majority of cases, you now have the roadmap. The next time a colour PDF emerges in shades of gray, you won't be guessing—you'll know exactly where to look.
