If you’re working on textured UV prints, you’ve probably heard about converting your artwork into grayscale. Many tutorials show how to do this in Photoshop—but what if you don’t use Photoshop?

Good news: you can create grayscale directly in Adobe Illustrator, and it’s super quick. Here’s how.

Why Grayscale Matters for UV Printing

When creating textured or layered prints, grayscale tells your printer how much ink to lay down.

• Black = maximum ink

• White = no ink

• Shades of gray = varying ink levels

This simple setup lets you create depth, texture, and dimension in your designs—no Photoshop required.

Step 1: Open Image Trace

1. Select your image in Illustrator.

2. Go to Window > Image Trace to open the Image Trace panel.

Step 2: Switch to Grayscale Mode

1. In the Image Trace panel, change the Mode to Grayscale.

2. Click Trace.

That’s it! Illustrator automatically converts your image into a grayscale vector.

Step 3: Adjust if Needed

From here, you can refine the results by tweaking thresholds or simplifying paths. But for most UV printing projects, the default grayscale trace is all you need.

Why Use Illustrator Instead of Photoshop?

• Vector-based workflow. Illustrator keeps everything scalable and easy to edit.

• Less software switching. You don’t need to bounce between programs.

• Quick setup. Perfect for when you need results fast.

Final Thoughts

Creating grayscale in Illustrator is one of the simplest ways to prepare artwork for textured UV prints. With just a couple of clicks, you’ll have a clean grayscale vector ready for your printer.

So next time you’re setting up a textured print project, skip Photoshop—you’ve already got everything you need in Illustrator.