Format at a glance
- Full name
- Tagged Image File Format
- File extensions
- .tif, .tiff
- MIME types
- image/tiff
- Category
- Images
- Compression
- Lossless and lossy
- Transparency
- Depends on the content
- Animation
- No
- Properties
- Alpha channel, Color profiles, Multiple pages
Suitable tools
What is this format?
TIFF means Tagged Image File Format. A directory of tags points to strips or tiles of pixels, allowing very different image variants within one standard.
TIFF can be uncompressed, losslessly compressed with LZW or Deflate, or lossy with JPEG. Multiple pages, high bit depths, CMYK and extensive metadata are possible.
What is it used for?
- Document and photo scans
- Prepress and CMYK images
- Scientific and geographic imagery
- Multipage fax and archive documents
Which programs can open it?
- Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo
- GIMP and Krita
- Windows Photos and macOS Preview
- ImageMagick and specialist software
Support across devices and browsers
Windows Photos or specialist image software opens TIFF, sometimes with an extension.
Preview, Quick Look and image editors support compatible TIFF files.
GIMP, Krita, ImageMagick and desktop viewers handle TIFF depending on installed libraries.
Gallery and editing apps support TIFF depending on the system version.
Photos, Files and image applications open supported TIFF variants.
Native display and Canvas decoding depend on the browser; LocalFileLab uses local decoders when necessary.
Advantages
- Flexible color depth, color space and compression
- Multiple pages and extensive metadata
- Established professional and scientific use
Disadvantages
- Many variants complicate full compatibility
- Files can become very large
- Less suitable for direct web display
Comparison with alternatives
PNG is simpler and web-friendly; TIFF offers more page, color and metadata options.
JPEG is smaller for photographs, while TIFF can retain lossless or uncompressed production data.
PDF combines layout, text and images; TIFF primarily stores raster-image pages.
LocalFileLab support
TIFF is recognized as an input. Image data is read locally through browser or WebAssembly decoders.
TIFF is available as a local output; available settings depend on the format.
LocalFileLab can compress TIFF locally or package it in a supported archive; already compressed content will not necessarily become smaller.
A local preview is available when the browser can display or play the content.
Complete preservation of format-specific metadata is not guaranteed.
Related formats
Frequently asked questions
Is TIFF lossless?
TIFF may be lossless or uncompressed, but it can also contain JPEG compression. The extension alone is not enough.
Can one TIFF contain multiple pages?
Yes. Multipage TIFF is common for scans and fax archives.
Why can an application not open my TIFF?
TIFF permits many compression methods, color spaces and tag extensions that not every application implements.