Print a presentation in black and white or grayscale

Most presentations are designed to be shown in color, but slides and handouts are often printed in black and white or shades of gray (grayscale). When you print in grayscale, you get an image that contains variations of gray tones between black and white.

You can print your whole presentation — the slides, outline, notes pages, and audience handouts — in color, grayscale, or pure black and white.

2016, 2013 2010 2007

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Set up your presentation to be printed in black and white

1. On the View tab, in the Color/Grayscale group, click Black and White.

2. Select a slide or an object on the slide you want to change the properties of. Then, on the Black And White tab, in the Change Selected Object group, click the settings that you want.

   

Note: You can apply different grayscale or black-and-white settings to different objects (and to the background) on the same slide.

Set the properties for printing in grayscale

1. On the View tab, in the Color/Grayscale group, click Grayscale.

2. Select a slide or an object on the slide you want to change the properties of. Then, on the Grayscale tab, in the Change Selected Object group, click the settings that you want.

Print a presentation in black and white or grayscale

1. Go to File > Print.

2. Under Settings, on the Color menu, click either Pure Black and White or Grayscale.

   • Grayscale will print the handout in grayscale. Some colors, such as a background fill, will shown as white to heighten their legibility. (Sometimes, this looks the same as Pure Black and White.)

   • Pure Black and White will print the handout without any gray fills.

3. Once you've chosen your preferred selection, click Print.

Preparing your printer to print in black and white or grayscale

When you choose to print, PowerPoint 2013 and PowerPoint 2016 set the colors in your presentation to match your selected printer's capabilities.

To check what the printout will look like, view it in print preview before you print it. With print preview, you can see how your slides, notes, and handouts will look in pure black and white or in grayscale, and you can adjust the appearance of the objects before you print them.

To get to print preview, go to File > Print. The print preview appears on the right side of the screen.

You can also make certain changes when you preview before you print. Go to File > Print, and then click Settings to choose the following:

• What you want to print: the presentation, handouts, notes pages, or just the outline, and whether to print all the slides, or just some.

• A layout for handouts.

• How to collate, or sequence, your printed pages.

• Whether to print on one or both sides of a page (if your printer is set up for double-sided printing).

• Whether to print in color, grayscale, or pure black and white.

• Header and footer options.

In a presentation, depending on if you've chosen to print or project in grayscale or pure black and white, objects will display on the screen and in print as listed in the table.

Note: Bitmaps, clip art, and charts show and are printed in grayscale, even when you set the printer properties to print in pure black and white.

Object	In grayscale	In pure black and white
Text	Black	Black
Text shadows	Grayscale	Hidden
Embossing	Grayscale	Hidden
Fills	Grayscale	White
Frame	Black	Black
Pattern fills	Grayscale	White
Lines	Black	Black
Object shadows	Grayscale	Black
Bitmaps	Grayscale	Grayscale
Clip art	Grayscale	Grayscale
Slide backgrounds	White	White
Charts	Grayscale	Grayscale

Set the properties for printing in black and white

1. On the View tab, in the Color/Grayscale group, click Black and White. The Black And White tab appears on the ribbon at the top of PowerPoint.

2. In the Change Selected Object group, click the settings that you want.

Note: You can apply different grayscale or black-and-white settings to different objects (and to the background) on the same slide. Select the object for which you want to set grayscale or black-and-white settings, and then set the properties on the View menu. Do not make a selection when you want to specify the grayscale and black-and-white settings for the background, and then set the properties on the View menu.

Set the properties for printing in grayscale

1. On the View tab, in the Color/Grayscale group, click Grayscale. The Grayscale tab appears on the ribbon at the top of PowerPoint.

2. In the Change Selected Object group, click the settings that you want.

Note: You can apply different grayscale or black-and-white settings to different objects (and to the background) on the same slide. Select the object for which you want to set grayscale or black-and-white settings, and then set the properties on the View tab. If you want to set the properties for the slide background, do not select any object on the slide.

Print a presentation in black and white or grayscale

1. On the File tab, click Print.

2. Under Settings, on the Color menu, click either Pure Black and White or Grayscale.

   • Grayscale     This setting prints the handout in grayscale. Some colors, such as a background fill, are shown in white to heighten their legibility. (Sometimes, this looks the same as Pure Black and White.)

   • Pure Black and White     This setting prints the handout with no gray fills.

     Click Print at the top of the gallery.

Preparing your printer to print in black and white or grayscale

Most presentations are designed to be shown in color, but slides and handouts are typically printed in black and white or shades of gray (grayscale). When you print in grayscale, you get an image that contains variations of gray tones between black and white.

When you choose to print, PowerPoint 2010 sets the colors in your presentation to match your selected printer's capabilities.

To check what the printout will look like, view it in print preview before you print it. With print preview, you can see how your slides, notes, and handouts will look in pure black and white or in grayscale, and you can adjust the appearance of the objects before you print them. To access print preview, on the File tab, click Print. The print preview appears on the right side of the screen.

You can also make certain changes when you preview before printing. Again, on the File tab, click Print. Then, under Settings, you can select:

• What you want to print: the presentation, handouts, notes pages, or just the outline, and whether to print all or just some.

• A layout for handouts.

• How to collate, or sequence, your printed pages.

• Whether to print on one or both sides of a page (if your printer is set up for duplex printing).

• Whether to print in color, grayscale, or pure black and white.

• Header and footer options.

In a presentation, grayscale and black-and-white objects appear on the screen and in print as listed in the table.

Note: Bitmaps, clip art, and charts show and are printed in grayscale, even when you set the printer properties to print in pure black and white.

Object	In grayscale / pure black and white
Text	Black/Black
Text shadows	Grayscale/Hidden
Embossing	Grayscale/Hidden
Fills	Grayscale/White
Frame	Black/Black
Pattern fills	Grayscale/White
Lines	Black/Black
Object shadows	Grayscale/Black
Bitmaps	Grayscale/Grayscale
Clip art	Grayscale/Grayscale
Slide backgrounds	White/White
Charts	Grayscale/Grayscale

Set the properties for printing in black and white

1. On the View tab, in the Color/Grayscale group, click Pure Black and White.

2. At the top of the PowerPoint window, on the Ribbon, click the Black And White tab.

3. In the Change Selected Object group, click the settings that you want.

Note: You can apply different grayscale or black-and-white settings to different objects (and to the background) on the same slide. Select the object for which you want to set grayscale or black-and-white settings, and then set the properties on the View menu. Do not make a selection when you want to specify the grayscale and black-and-white settings for the background, and then set the properties on the View menu.

Set the properties for printing in grayscale

1. On the View tab, in the Color/Grayscale group, click Grayscale.

2. At the top of the PowerPoint window, on the Ribbon, click the Grayscale tab.

3. In the Change Selected Object group, click the settings that you want.

Note: You can apply different grayscale or black-and-white settings to different objects (and to the background) on the same slide. Select the object for which you want to set grayscale or black-and-white settings, and then set the properties on the View tab. If you want to set the properties for the slide background, do not select any object on the slide.

Print a presentation in black and white or grayscale

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , point to Print, and then click Print Preview.

2. In the Print group, click the arrow under Options, point to Color/Grayscale, and then click either Pure Black and White or Grayscale.

   • Grayscale     This setting prints the handout in grayscale. Some colors, such as a background fill, are shown in white to heighten their legibility. (Sometimes, this looks the same as Pure Black and White.)

   • Pure Black and White     This setting prints the handout with no gray fills.

3. In the Print group, click Print.

   Notes: 

   • You can apply different grayscale or black-and-white settings to different objects on the same slide.

   • This process does not change the colors or design in the original color presentation.

   • When you print in grayscale or black and white, the background may not be printed if it interferes with the slide contrast.

Preparing your printer to print in black and white or grayscale

Most presentations are designed to be shown in color, but slides and handouts are typically printed in black and white or shades of gray (grayscale). When you print in grayscale, you get an image that contains variations of gray tones between black and white.

When you choose to print, PowerPoint sets the colors in your presentation to match your selected printer's capabilities.

To check what the printout will look like, view it in print preview before you print it. With print preview, you can see how your slides, notes, and handouts will look in pure black and white or in grayscale, and you can adjust the appearance of the objects before you print them.

You can also make certain changes when you preview before printing. You can select:

• What you want to print: the presentation, handouts, notes pages, or just the outline

• A layout for handouts

• Orientation (portrait or landscape) for handouts, notes pages, or an outline

• Header and footer options

In a presentation, grayscale and black-and-white objects appear on the screen and in print as listed in the table.

Object	In grayscale/ pure black and white
Text	Black/Black
Text shadows	Grayscale/Hidden
Embossing	Grayscale/Hidden
Fills	Grayscale/White
Frame	Black/Black
Pattern fills	Grayscale/White
Lines	Black/Black
Object shadows	Grayscale/Black
Bitmaps	Grayscale/Grayscale
Slide backgrounds	White/White
Charts	Grayscale/Grayscale

Note: Bitmaps, clip art, and charts show and are printed in grayscale, even when you set the printer properties to print in pure black and white.

See also

View your speaker notes privately while delivering a presentation on multiple monitors