What is TIFF?
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a versatile raster image format developed in the 1980s by Aldus Corporation (later acquired by Adobe). Originally created to become the standard format for desktop scanning, TIFF has evolved into a highly flexible format widely used in professional photography, publishing, and image archiving.
Key Features
TIFF's primary strengths lie in its flexibility and quality:
- Lossless storage: Preserves all image data without quality degradation
- High bit-depth support: Can store 8, 16, or even 32 bits per channel
- Multiple color spaces: Supports RGB, CMYK, LAB, and other color models
- Layers and transparency: Can contain multiple layers and alpha channels
- Extensible design: Uses a tag-based structure that allows for custom extensions
- Compression options: Supports various compression methods including LZW and ZIP
When to Use TIFF
TIFF is ideal for:
- Professional photography and high-quality image storage
- Print production and commercial publishing
- Medical and scientific imaging
- Master copies of important images
- Scenarios where maximum image quality is required
- Multi-page documents (TIFF can contain multiple images in one file)
Limitations
Despite its advantages, TIFF has some significant limitations:
- File size: Typically much larger than JPEG, PNG, or WebP
- Web incompatibility: Not directly supported by web browsers
- Complexity: The format's flexibility leads to compatibility issues between software
- Handling overhead: Requires more processing power and memory to open and edit
Technical Details
TIFF files use the .tif or .tiff extension and have the MIME type "image/tiff". The format's flexibility comes from its tag-based file structure, where each tag identifies a specific attribute of the image. This allows software to easily read the specific information it needs and ignore the rest.
TIFF Variants
Over time, several TIFF variants have emerged:
- BigTIFF: An extension that supports files larger than 4GB
- GeoTIFF: Embeds geographic metadata for mapping applications
- TIFF/EP: A standard for digital cameras (ISO 12234-2)
- TIFF/IT: A standard for prepress data exchange (ISO 12639)
Conclusion
TIFF remains the format of choice for professional image work where quality is paramount. While not suitable for web delivery or casual use due to its large file size, TIFF's superior quality and flexibility make it invaluable in professional workflows. For archival storage, print production, and situations where image fidelity is critical, TIFF continues to be the gold standard despite the development of newer formats.