Print PDF file without background

Sometimes I need to print a pdf file that has a black background or some heavy background images, and that sucks up a lot of ink. Is there any method to remove the background from PDF files before printing?

Anything that works on Windows or Linux.

Malabarba

Posted 2012-06-25T00:55:07.263

Reputation: 7 588

Are you really sure that what occurs as 'background' to your eyes isn't really a black box that is painted onto the page first (and hence not 'background' but common page content), before all the other strokes and fills are done? – Kurt Pfeifle – 2012-06-25T11:46:26.670

Answers

In Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can set a custom background color (in this case: white) within the as part of the accessibility options.

The following instructions are for version 9. Other version should be similar.

Press Ctrl + K or go to Edit -> Preferences.
Under Categories, select Accessibility.
Check Replace Document Colors and Custom Color.
Set Page Background to white.
Click OK.

Note: This will only work for some PDFs. Others will not retain the changes when printing.

Dennis

Posted 2012-06-25T00:55:07.263

Reputation: 42 934

@Bruce: did this solution really work for your file(s)? – Kurt Pfeifle – 2012-06-25T11:46:57.560

@pipitas I tested with one of the files I need, and it worked. I didn't test all of them though. A few of them might be using black boxes instead of backgrounds (like you mentioned) and these probably won't work. – Malabarba – 2012-06-25T16:55:43.493

7@pipitas Actually, I apologize for the confusion, but this method does NOT work. It hids the background when viewing the PDF, but when printing it the background is still there. – Malabarba – 2012-06-25T23:40:42.887

4@BruceConnor: I checked with other documents, and I was wrong to assume that it would work for all text-based PDFs. It works for some, however. I don't know why. – Dennis – 2012-06-26T00:48:04.393

That's what I suspected. That's why I asked... – Kurt Pfeifle – 2012-06-26T11:50:50.783

I had this same problem except I was printing an 89-page pdf document of anatomical pictures. The problem? These pictures were sitting in a black background.

So my solution was:

Convert PDF to DOCX (for word) with online converter.
Open DOCX file on Word.
Picture-by-Picture select the pictures, Click "Picture Tools"in the upper toolbar, then select Format.
An option to "Recolor" appears on the left most side under neath the brightness and contrast buttons.
Click your picture, then this button then the recolor button then select transparent and click the black background.

Hey presto, you have now saved as much black ink as would have been required for the picture without decreasing much if any of the picture quality.

Hope it helps!

user530827

Posted 2012-06-25T00:55:07.263

Reputation: 21

What do you use to convert PDF to DOCX? Do you lose properties when converting? – Karlo – 2018-03-31T17:04:32.547

i found your solution helpful, however you can use 'macro' in MS Word to to brighten background or apply contrast. this will be done automatically which will save tons of time. – Amir Dora – 2019-07-02T00:54:21.300