Greyed-out printing is a permission flag set by whoever made the file, and it can be cleared without a password. Pages that print blank are usually annotations or form fields the printer ignores, which flattening fixes.
1Check whether printing is blockedIf Print is greyed out or prints at poor quality only, it is a restriction. Unlock PDF Restrictions clears the flags in your browser.
2Flatten if pages come out blankThat makes annotations and form values part of the page, so every printer renders them.
3Resize pages to your paperFitting every page to A4 or Letter removes driver disagreements about size and orientation.
4As a last resort, print from a different readerChrome, Preview and Acrobat use different print paths; a file that fails in one often prints from another.
Why does this happen?
The file blocks printing. An owner password can mark printing as not allowed, or allow it only at low resolution. The document still opens normally.
The content is in annotations the printer skips. Comments, stamps and form values are separate from the page, and some print paths leave them out — the page prints, but empty.
The PDF is encrypted and the printer driver refuses it. Office printers with direct-print features often reject encrypted files outright.
The page size does not match the paper. An A3 or custom-size page sent to an A4 tray can fail rather than scale, depending on the driver.
Questions
Why is printing greyed out on a PDF I own?
The flag was set by the software that produced it, often by default. Clearing it does not change the document’s content.
Why does the page print blank?
The visible content is in annotations or form fields your print path ignores. Flattening moves it into the page.
Does removing print restrictions reduce quality?
No — and it also removes any "low resolution printing only" flag, so the print matches the file.