How to Automatically Print PDFs in Color or Grayscale Using CLI Parameters

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How to Automatically Print PDFs in Color or Grayscale Using CLI Parameters

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Tired of toggling printer settings for each PDF? Here's how I use CLI parameters to automate colour or grayscale printing using VeryPDF PDFPrint.

Every print job used to be a pain...

Every morning, I'd be buried in a pile of PDF reports invoices, statements, scanned docs and I had to print them fast. Some had to be in colour, some only needed grayscale. And of course, no one ever told me which was which until 10 minutes before the meeting.

How to Automatically Print PDFs in Color or Grayscale Using CLI Parameters

At first, I tried to manage it manually, switching printer settings back and forth. Guess how well that worked? Half the time I forgot. Or the settings didn't save. Or worse, the printer ignored them altogether.

Eventually, I thought: "There's gotta be a better way to batch print PDFs without this madness."

That's when I found VeryPDF PDFPrint Command Line.

This little tool changed my print game

I'm talking about VeryPDF PDFPrint Command Line a lightweight, no-GUI, straight-to-the-point utility that lets you print PDFs directly from the command line. It's designed for power users, sysadmins, developers, or anyone who's drowning in PDF print jobs and wants full control.

No Adobe Reader, no pop-up dialogs, just pure command line automation.

And the best part? You can set whether to print in colour or grayscale using a single parameter.

The core features I actually use

Here's the breakdown of the most useful stuff in my workflow:

Print in Colour or Grayscale Automatically

This one's the star.

Just add -color 2 for colour or -color 1 for monochrome. That's it.

bash
pdfprint.exe -printer "MyPrinter" -color 1 invoice.pdf

Want to mix it up? Use a script to scan file names or tags, then print accordingly.

Real use case:

We tag internal drafts with _bw and client-facing versions with _color. A batch script parses those filenames and sends them to print with the right settings. Zero manual clicks. Zero mistakes.

Batch Printing Multiple PDFs

I've used PDFPrint to batch-print entire folders worth of PDFs.

You can even merge print jobs into one, which saves time and stops the printer queue from going nuts.

bash
pdfprint.exe -printer "OfficePrinter" -mergeprintjobs *.pdf

Great when you need to print a stack of documents as one job, like a contract package.

Support for Broken or Complex PDFs

We deal with some nasty PDFs broken metadata, weird fonts, half-scanned garbage.

PDFPrint handles it like a champ.

With -preproc and -raster options, it pre-processes and rasterises stubborn files before sending them to the printer.

bash
pdfprint.exe -printer "FallbackPrinter" -raster -preproc brokenfile.pdf

That's saved us from panic-printing the morning of a board meeting more times than I care to admit.

Why I prefer VeryPDF over other tools

Here's what I tried before:

  • Adobe Acrobat: clunky, not scriptable

  • CutePDF + scripting: fragile and limited

  • Windows Print CLI: okay for basics, but no colour/grayscale control

VeryPDF PDFPrint Command Line just works. It doesn't try to be fancy it's fast, stable, and laser-focused.

Big wins:

  • No GUI bloat

  • Works with real printers and virtual printers

  • Can be called from scripts, cron jobs, batch files, apps

  • Doesn't need Adobe installed

  • Supports legacy and modern printers

It's like having a print robot you can talk to in code.

Final thoughts this thing saves hours every week

Since we started using VeryPDF PDFPrint, we've:

  • Eliminated print setting errors

  • Saved hours of manual labour

  • Automated morning reports printing

  • Stopped overusing colour ink unnecessarily

If you're printing lots of PDFs and need colour/grayscale control, this tool is a no-brainer.

I'd highly recommend it to IT admins, legal teams, finance departments, or anyone who prints PDFs in volume and needs precision.

Try it out yourself: https://www.verypdf.com/app/pdf-print-cmd/

Custom Development Services by VeryPDF

Need something more custom? VeryPDF's team can tailor their tools to fit your workflow. From Windows printer driver development to PDF print job monitoring, OCR integration, or cloud PDF APIs, they've built it all.

Their services cover:

  • Windows API, Python, C#, .NET, C++

  • Linux/macOS PDF solutions

  • Virtual printer drivers that output PDF, EMF, TIFF, and more

  • Document layout analysis and OCR table recognition

  • Cloud-based PDF signing, conversion, and viewing

  • Barcode generation, DRM, font tech, and more

If you've got a specific printing or document-processing problem, they'll probably solve it faster than you can explain it.

Contact them here: http://support.verypdf.com/

FAQs

Can I use VeryPDF PDFPrint without installing Adobe Reader?

Yes. It doesn't rely on Adobe or any third-party viewer.

How do I print PDFs in grayscale automatically?

Use the parameter -color 1 in your command line.

Does it work with network printers?

Absolutely. Just use the full printer name or UNC path.

Can I print all PDFs in a folder at once?

Yes. Use a wildcard like *.pdf in your command.

What if my PDF is damaged or won't print?

Try the -preproc and -raster options to fix broken files during print.

Tags or Keywords

  • command line PDF print tool

  • auto print PDF in grayscale

  • batch print PDF colour

  • VeryPDF PDFPrint Command Line

  • print PDFs with CLI commands

  • PDF printing automation Windows

  • switch between colour and mono printing CLI

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