How to print just black & white from PDFs

[Shannon72]

Hi, folks!

I bought an HP OfficeJet Pro 6978 in the winter. At first, i couldn't get it to print in black & white at all. I just reinstalled the drivers, however, and now have it successfully printing in black & white from Word and Excel. PDFs, however, still print in color. In trying to save color ink, i'd prefer to default to black & white. 

Here are the settings i'm currently trying out: 

• Presets (i've tried all these options in combination with the next set of bullets):
  • Plain paper, Draft
  • Plain paper, Best
  • Plain paper, Draft, black & white
  • (There's also a Photo paper option, which i haven't tried.)
• Paper Type/Quality menu:
  • Paper type: Plain paper
  • Quality: Draft
  • Quality: Normal
  • Color options (in combination with both Quality selections above):
    • Color: Grayscale
    • Grayscale mode: Black ink on

Any ideas how to get the printer to print using only black ink in PDFs?

Thanks for any suggestions anyone has!

[senan6806]

Hi @Shannon72,

A warm welcome to HP Community!

Print settings typically varies with applications on macOS. Which application are you using to print PDF's. Eg: Preview, Adobe?

Would you be able to post a screen shot of the print dialogue window.

Let me know!

[Shannon72]

Thanks so much, Senan6806.

I'm using Adobe to view my PDFs. Attached is a screenshot of the print dialog.

I appreciate your time!

--Shannon

[senan6806]

@Shannon72

You are welcome! I believe the Black ink only print setting is located under Paper Type/Quality menu. Click the Un-named print option menu located below Presets and select  Paper Type/Quality. Then click the arrow near Color Options to expand the menu and then select Grayscale from Color and then click Black ink Only and then click Print.

Once the print job is complete, these settings will be set as default for future print jobs until you select a new preset or change settings.

You can also save your settings for future print jobs, click the Presets menu, and then select Save Current Settings as Preset.

Let me know how it goes!

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!
Have a great day!

[Shannon72]

Thanks for the additional info, Senan6806.

I checked and already had all those settings selected. I did try to print a color PDF page after verifying that i had everything set up as you suggested. But the page still came out in color. 😞

I'd love any additional ideas you or anyone else has.

--Shannon

[senan6806 · Accepted solution]

@Shannon72

In that case, it could be an issue with the printer driver installed on your Mac. Removing the existing printer driver and then setting up the printer with Apple AirPrint may resolve the issue. Here is how to do it:

Please ensure that the printer is up to date with its firmware and Mac is up to date with it's software. If you are unsure you may use the links below to update the printer firmware and Mac software:

Update printer firmware

Update software on Mac 

1.) Click the Apple menu, click System Preferences, and then click Print & Scan or Printers & Scanners.

2.) Check if your printer name displays in the Printers list, If your printer is listed, click the printer name, click the minus sign to delete the printer.

3.) If you see multiple printer queues for the same printer, remove all extra printers by selecting them one at a time, and then clicking the minus button  at the bottom of the list.

4.) Click the plus sign , click Add Printer or Scanner, click the printer name.

5.) Click the Use or Print Using menu, select AirPrint in the pop-up menu. Then click Add.

6.) Try to print.

Keep me posted!

[Shannon72]

It worked! It worked!!

Thanks so much for all your assistance, @senan6806. I really appreciate it. 🙂

--Shannon

[senan6806]

@Shannon72

You are welcome, Shannon! Glad to hear that the issue is resolved. If you need any help, feel free to reach out to us. Have a great day!