FormatDrop
Image Format

TIFF

Tagged Image File Format

TIFF is the format of professional photography, print production, and document archiving. It stores images without lossy compression at any bit depth, supports multiple pages in one file, and is accepted by virtually every professional imaging workflow. For everyday use, it's overkill — but in the contexts where it's required, nothing else will do.

What is TIFF?

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) was developed by Aldus Corporation (later acquired by Adobe) and first released in 1986. It was designed as a flexible, extensible format to handle the diverse needs of the desktop publishing and professional imaging industries emerging in the mid-1980s. The 'Tagged' in TIFF refers to its tag-based structure: the file is organized as a series of tagged data fields that describe the image dimensions, colour space, compression method, and actual pixel data. This tag system makes TIFF extremely flexible — it can describe virtually any type of image data. TIFF supports: lossless compression (LZW, DEFLATE/ZIP, PackBits) or no compression at all; multiple bit depths (1, 8, 16, 32 bits per channel); multiple colour spaces (RGB, CMYK, LAB, Grayscale); multiple layers and pages (multi-page TIFF is the standard format for scanned document archives); transparency (alpha channel); and embedded metadata including EXIF, IPTC, and XMP. Professional printing workflows universally use TIFF for final artwork delivery because CMYK colour space support is essential for print and virtually unique to TIFF among raster formats (PNG and JPG are RGB-only). Publishers, agencies, and print houses request 300 DPI CMYK TIFF for reproduction work. The trade-off is file size: an uncompressed TIFF of a full-page print-quality image at 300 DPI can be 100 MB to 1 GB. TIFF with LZW or ZIP compression reduces this by 30–60% without quality loss.

TIFF pros and cons

Advantages

  • Lossless or uncompressed — maximum image fidelity
  • Supports CMYK colour space (essential for professional printing)
  • Multi-page TIFF for document archives and multi-page scans
  • 16-bit and 32-bit colour depth for HDR and professional colour work
  • Universal support in professional imaging software (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
  • Flexible and extensible tag system supports any image data

Limitations

  • Very large file sizes — impractical for web or general sharing
  • Not supported natively in most web browsers (no inline display)
  • Not appropriate for web use — use JPG, PNG, or WebP instead
  • Slow to open and save due to large file sizes
  • Multiple TIFF variants (uncompressed, LZW, ZIP) can cause compatibility issues

When should you convert TIFF files?

Convert TIFF to JPG for sharing, emailing, or web use — JPG is 10–30× smaller with minimal perceptible quality loss for photographic content. Convert TIFF to PNG if you need lossless quality at smaller file sizes and don't need CMYK support. Convert JPG or PNG to TIFF when a publisher, print shop, or professional workflow requires TIFF — typically because CMYK or high bit-depth precision is needed.

Convert TIFF files

TIFF→JPG

All FormatDrop conversions run entirely in your browser — no file upload, no server processing. Your files stay on your device.

TIFF FAQ

Why do print shops require TIFF files?
Professional printing uses CMYK colour (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) — four ink colours mixed to produce printed colours. TIFF supports CMYK colour space natively, which JPG and PNG do not. Print software (Adobe InDesign, Photoshop) works with CMYK TIFF for final artwork. Additionally, print requires 300+ DPI at actual print size, and lossless TIFF ensures no compression artefacts appear when printed at that resolution.
Is TIFF lossless?
TIFF supports multiple compression methods. Uncompressed TIFF stores every pixel exactly with no compression. LZW-compressed and ZIP-compressed TIFF are also lossless — the compression is mathematically reversible. JPEG-compressed TIFF does exist (TIFF can embed JPEG compression) but it's rarely used in professional workflows. In practice, if someone sends you a TIFF, you can assume it's lossless unless specifically noted otherwise.
What's the difference between TIFF and RAW?
Camera RAW files (CR2, NEF, ARW, etc.) contain the raw, unprocessed data from the camera sensor — before any sharpening, colour correction, or noise reduction is applied. TIFF typically contains processed image data (the result of developing the RAW file in Lightroom or Photoshop). RAW files are for editing; TIFF is for archiving the finished image or sending to print. Most professional workflows go: RAW → edit in Lightroom/Photoshop → export as TIFF (for print) or JPG (for web).

More formats

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