How to Convert an Image to Black and White in Microsoft Paint

Microsoft Paint, or MS Paint, has been included free with every version of Windows since 1985. While it‘s never boasted advanced artistic capabilities, this simple raster graphics editor is still handy for basic image viewing, creation, and editing tasks.

One of Paint‘s built-in tools is an option to convert color images to pure black and white. This 1-bit "monochrome" mode has a variety of practical applications:

• Creating graphics or logos with a minimalist style
• Making coloring book pages or basic line art to print
• Generating fax-friendly versions of documents
• Simplifying visually noisy images to just their essential elements
• Shrinking image file sizes for faster loading on websites or in email

In this guide, we‘ll walk through exactly how to make a picture black and white in MS Paint on Windows 10 and Windows 11. We‘ll also explain what makes Paint‘s black and white mode unique, share some tips and best practices, and suggest alternative software for more flexible black and white conversion options.

How Black and White Image Conversion Works

To understand Paint‘s black and white feature, it helps to know a bit about how digital images represent color. Most color digital images use 24 bits of data to specify the color of each pixel. That allows for over 16 million possible colors, with 8 bits each dedicated to the red, green, and blue color channels.

Grayscale images, on the other hand, throw out the color information. Instead, each pixel is assigned one of 256 shades of gray, ranging from pure black to pure white. This is specified with 8 bits of data per pixel.

"True" black and white images go a step further, using only 1 bit per pixel. Each pixel can only be fully on (white) or fully off (black), with nothing in between.

Some clever tricks are used to fake shades of gray in 1-bit images. Dithering uses patterns of black and white pixels to approximate gray tones. For example, a checkerboard of alternating black and white pixels averages out to a 50% gray tone.

When you convert an image to black and white in Microsoft Paint, it analyzes the original colors of each pixel and makes a decision to map it to either fully black or fully white. There is no in-between gray, and no dithering is applied.

Step by Step: Converting an Image to Black and White in Paint

Without further ado, here‘s how to turn any image to a stark black and white rendition in Microsoft Paint:

1. Open your image in Paint. You can right-click an image file and choose "Edit with Paint", or open Paint first and select File > Open to browse for an image.

2. In Paint, go to the File menu and click "Properties".

3. In the Image Properties dialog box, select the "Black and white" radio button. Click OK.

4. A warning dialog will appear, explaining that converting to black and white cannot be undone. Click OK to proceed.

5. Your image is now converted to black and white. All colored pixels have been mapped to either pure black or pure white.

6. To save your black and white creation, go to File > Save As. Choose your desired file format (1-bit BMP and GIF are most efficient for black and white) and location, ideally with a new file name to avoid overwriting your original color image.

The Pros and Cons of Paint‘s Black and White Mode

Microsoft Paint takes a very literal approach to black and white conversion. Every pixel that was originally darker than 50% gray becomes black, while every pixel lighter than 50% gray becomes white.

This produces a high-contrast, two-tone effect that can be great for certain use cases:

• Logos, icons, and simple graphics that need to be clean and bold
• Printing black-only coloring pages, connect-the-dots, or basic line art
• Proofing an image‘s fundamental composition and recognizability
• Creating source material for laser cutting, vinyl plotting, or CNC carving

However, the loss of detail in Paint‘s black and white mode makes it unsuitable for converting many types of images, especially photographs. Subtle textures, gradients, and shading are easily lost when every pixel has to pick a side between black and white.

For example, here is a portrait photo converted to black and white in Paint:

As you can see, the result is a silhouette that‘s lost all the nuances that made the original portrait compelling. Paint‘s black and white tool simply isn‘t designed to handle the smooth gradients in most photos.

Best Practices for Black and White Conversions in Paint

If you do want to use Paint to generate a black and white version of an image, here are some tips for the best possible results:

1. Choose images that have mostly solid blocks of color and sharp edges. Paint‘s black and white mode works better for illustrations, text, and basic graphics than for photos.

2. Before converting, adjust the brightness and contrast of your image with Paint‘s tools under the Adjust and Image menus. This can help emphasize the key elements you want to capture in black and white.

3. After converting to black and white, use the Eraser tool set to a color (not white) to clean up any unwanted black pixels. Use the Pencil tool to fill in any areas that should be solid black or white.

4. If your converted image looks too busy, try reducing it to just outlines. Go to Adjust > Invert Colors so white becomes black and vice versa. Then go to Adjust > Invert Colors again. This leaves you with a black outline drawing on a white background.

5. To add labels, select the Text tool and choose a font color that contrasts with your background (black on white or white on black). Use a bold, clear typeface for legibility.

6. When saving black and white graphics from Paint, choose a file format that supports 1-bit color depth for the most efficiency. BMP and GIF are good choices. PNG also works well if you need transparency.

Black and White File Size Savings

One benefit of converting graphics to true black and white is that it can dramatically reduce the file size compared to color or grayscale. This table shows typical file sizes for a basic 800×600 pixel logo graphic saved in different formats and color depths:

Format	Color Depth	File Size
BMP	24-bit	1.44 MB
PNG	24-bit	45 KB
GIF	8-bit	18 KB
BMP	1-bit	60 KB
GIF	1-bit	4 KB

As you can see, a 1-bit GIF version of a simple graphic can be over 10 times smaller than even an optimized 8-bit GIF, and hundreds of times smaller than an uncompressed 24-bit BMP. Those savings can really add up on a website with many graphics.

Better Tools for Black and White Conversion

If you need more flexible ways to transform color images to black and white, there are many other software options available beyond Microsoft Paint. Here are a few of the best:

Paint 3D

Included free with Windows 10 and 11, Paint 3D offers a more modern interface and additional features compared to classic MS Paint. Its "Grayscale" effect under the Filters menu converts images to 256 shades of gray rather than just black and white.

Paint.NET

This free and open-source image editor for Windows has a "Black and White" adjustment that provides more control over how colors are mapped to shades of gray. You can even apply color filters as part of the black and white conversion.

GIMP

The GNU Image Manipulation Program is a free, cross-platform, open-source alternative to Photoshop. It offers multiple ways to convert images to black and white, from a simple "grayscale" mode to a "Channel Mixer" that lets you fine-tune the red, green, and blue contributions to the black and white result.

Adobe Photoshop

The industry standard for image editing, Adobe Photoshop has an extremely powerful "Black & White" adjustment layer. This lets you adjust how specific original colors translate to shades of gray, effectively letting you "paint with light" to emphasize key tones in the black and white version.

Mobile Apps

For converting pictures to black and white on smartphones, try the highly rated BlackCam for iOS or Black & White Camera for Android. These specialized apps provide more control over the black and white looks than your phone‘s built-in filters.

Here‘s a comparison of the key features in each program for black and white editing:

Software	Grayscale	B&W Presets	B&W Filters	Adjust Color Mapping
MS Paint	No	No	No	No
Paint 3D	Yes	No	No	No
Paint.NET	Yes	No	Yes	No
GIMP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Photoshop	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
BlackCam	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
B&W Camera	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Conclusion

Microsoft Paint‘s built-in black and white mode is a quick and easy way to make simple 1-bit graphics, but it‘s not ideal for more nuanced grayscale conversions. For best results, use Paint‘s black and white tool on images that are already high-contrast, like illustrations, text, or logos.

To convert photos or complex images to black and white while preserving subtle shading, you‘ll get better results with a program that supports multiple shades of gray and provides controls for customizing how colors map to those shades. Paint 3D, Paint.NET, GIMP and Photoshop on desktop, or BlackCam and B&W Camera on mobile, are all great options.

No matter which software you use, always experiment with the black and white settings to find the right balance of tones and contrast for your specific image. With practice, you‘ll be able to create compelling black and white versions that draw the eye where you want it to go.

Happy black and white converting!