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TIFF Format — Complete Guide & Converter

Everything you need to know about the TIFF file format: technical specifications, use cases, compatibility, and free conversion tools.

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What is a TIFF File?

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a flexible raster image format built around "tags", labeled fields that describe the image's dimensions, color model, compression, resolution and many other properties. That flexibility lets a single format serve scanners, fax machines, desktop publishing, professional photography, GIS mapping, medical imaging and archiving. A TIFF file can store multiple pages, 1-bit through 32-bit-per-channel images, RGB, CMYK, grayscale and Lab color, alpha channels, and a range of compression schemes: none, LZW, ZIP (Deflate), PackBits, CCITT Group 3/4 for black-and-white faxes, and even JPEG. Most TIFFs are lossless. TIFF's downsides are size and support. Uncompressed TIFFs are very large, and although professional software handles TIFF well, most web browsers (other than Safari) don't display it, and many consumer apps only show the first page of a multi-page TIFF.

History of the TIFF Format

TIFF was created by Aldus Corporation in 1986, together with Microsoft and scanner manufacturers, to provide a common format for the scanners that were beginning to feed desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker. Revision 5.0 (1988) added color images and LZW compression, and TIFF 6.0 (1992) added CMYK, JPEG compression and tiled images. Adobe acquired Aldus in 1994 and has held the TIFF specification since. Although 6.0 remains the last major revision, several important variants have appeared: TIFF/EP for digital cameras, TIFF/IT for prepress, GeoTIFF for geographic data, and BigTIFF for files larger than 4 GB. Adobe's DNG raw format is also based on TIFF. The U.S. Library of Congress and many archives list uncompressed or losslessly compressed TIFF among their preferred formats for preserving digitized images.

TIFF Technical Specifications

File Extension.tif, .tiff
MIME Typeimage/tiff
CompressionNone, LZW, ZIP, PackBits, CCITT, JPEG
Color Depth1 to 32 bits per channel
Color ModelsRGB, CMYK, grayscale, Lab, indexed
Multiple PagesSupported
Developed ByAldus (1986), now Adobe
Best ForPrint, scanning, archiving, professional imaging

TIFF Advantages & Limitations

Advantages

  • ✓Lossless storage (uncompressed, LZW or ZIP)
  • ✓Multiple pages in one file
  • ✓Supports CMYK, Lab, 16 and 32-bit per channel images
  • ✓Alpha channels and layers (in some editors)
  • ✓Extensive metadata and resolution information
  • ✓Standard in print, publishing, scanning and archiving
  • ✓Widely supported by professional software

Limitations

  • ✗Very large files, especially uncompressed
  • ✗Not displayed by most web browsers (Safari only)
  • ✗Many viewers show only the first page of multi-page files
  • ✗Many variants: some software doesn't support every compression or option
  • ✗Standard TIFF is limited to 4 GB per file (BigTIFF is needed beyond that)
  • ✗Not suitable for websites or email

Common Use Cases for TIFF

TIFF is the workhorse of professional imaging. Print shops and publishers request TIFF for artwork and photos, since it's lossless and supports CMYK. Photographers keep edited masters as 16-bit TIFFs. Document scanners and multifunction copiers produce multi-page TIFFs, and fax systems use TIFF with CCITT compression. Archives, libraries and museums digitize collections to TIFF for preservation. Scientific, medical and satellite imaging use TIFF (and GeoTIFF for mapping) for high bit-depth data, and OCR and document-imaging systems accept TIFF input. For sharing, TIFFs are usually converted: to PDF to keep all pages of scanned documents in a universally readable file, to JPG for small shareable photos, or to PNG for lossless web graphics.

Convert TIFF to Other Formats

Transform your TIFF files to any of the supported target formats below. Each conversion preserves maximum quality and is completely free.

TIFF to PDFTIFF to JPGTIFF to PNG

Convert Other Formats to TIFF

Need to create TIFF files from other formats? Use any of the converters below.

PNG to TIFF

TIFF vs Related Formats

TIFF sits at the professional end of image formats. PNG is also lossless but web-friendly, lacking CMYK and multiple pages. JPEG is far smaller but lossy. PDF has largely replaced multi-page TIFF for sharing scanned documents, while PSD and DNG serve related roles in editing and raw photography.

JPG Format Guide PNG Format Guide WEBP Format Guide HEIC Format Guide GIF Format Guide AVIF Format Guide BMP Format Guide JFIF Format Guide ICO Format Guide

TIFF — Frequently Asked Questions

What is a TIFF file?

A flexible, usually lossless image format used in scanning, printing, photography and archiving. It can hold multiple pages and professional color formats like CMYK.

Is TIF the same as TIFF?

Yes. .tif and .tiff are two extensions for the same format.

Why are TIFF files so large?

They're usually lossless and often uncompressed, storing every pixel at full precision. Converting to JPG makes them much smaller.

How do I open a multi-page TIFF?

Windows Photos, macOS Preview and professional apps can page through it, but many viewers show only page one. Converting TIFF to PDF makes every page easy to view anywhere.

Is TIFF better than PNG?

For print and archiving, TIFF's CMYK, multi-page and metadata support make it the standard. For screens and the web, PNG is lossless too and far more compatible.

Can I view TIFF in a browser?

Only Safari displays TIFF natively. Convert to JPG or PNG to show TIFF images on websites.

Explore Other Format Guides

HEICJPGMP4MP3PNGWEBPWAVAVIAVIFBMPWordFLACGIFICOJFIFM4AMKVMOVOGGPDFPowerPointTXTWEBM