Sample Files
Details
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format
About
What is .TIFF?
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a highly flexible raster image format that supports lossless or lossy compression, multiple color depths, metadata, and multipage images. It is widely used in professional imaging, print workflows, and long-term archiving.
History
Origin of TIFF
The TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) was introduced by Aldus Corporation in the mid-1980s and later maintained by Adobe Inc.. It was created to provide a flexible and extensible format for storing raster images, especially for desktop publishing and scanners. TIFF became a widely adopted standard due to its tag-based structure, support for multiple compression methods, high bit-depths, and multipage documents. Today, TIFF is used in photography, professional printing, archival imaging, and scientific/medical applications.
Benefits
Supports very high bit-depth images (up to 32-bit floating point)
Compatible with lossless compression methods like LZW and ZIP
Allows multiple pages or layers inside a single file
Stores extensive metadata (EXIF, IPTC, XMP)
Ideal for printing, scanning, archiving, and photography workflows
Highly flexible tag-based structure for custom imaging applications
Usage
Open `.tiff` files using Photoshop, GIMP, Affinity Photo, Lightroom, or image viewers
Use TIFF for printing, archival storage, or high-quality photography workflows
Convert TIFF to JPEG, PNG, or WebP for web distribution
Scan documents into multipage TIFF files for archiving or OCR processing
Use Cases
Common Use Cases
Here are the use cases for this file extension
Professional Photography
Used to store high-quality images with maximum color and tonal information.
Document Scanning & Archiving
Multipage TIFF files are standard in government, medical, and archival imaging.
Printing & Publishing
Preferred format in print workflows due to high fidelity and color accuracy.
Compatibility
Supported By
This extension is compatible with the following platforms.
Windows (native & imaging apps)
macOS (Preview, pro apps)
Linux (ImageMagick, GIMP)
Android (via viewer apps)
iOS (limited native, apps required)
Web Browsers (limited, some require conversion)
More Details
Technical Specs
Here are some technical details about this extension
File Extension
.tiff, .tif
MIME Type
image/tiff
Compression Support
LZW, ZIP, JPEG, CCITT Group 3/4 (fax), PackBits
Color Depth
1-bit to 32-bit; supports grayscale, RGB, CMYK, LAB
Multipage Support
Yes (multiple images/pages in one file)
Metadata Support
EXIF, IPTC, XMP, custom tags
Typical Use
Professional imaging, archiving, printing, scanning
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Got Questions?
Get answers to common questions
TIFF files store uncompressed or losslessly compressed data, high bit-depth color, and sometimes multiple pages, resulting in large file sizes.
Yes. TIFF supports multipage documents and is commonly used for scanned files and archival imaging.