What is TIFF?
Tagged Image File Format
TIFF is the professional standard for high-quality image storage. It supports lossless compression, multiple pages, and rich metadata — making it the format of choice for publishing, scanning and document archival.
History of TIFF
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) was created by Aldus in 1986 for desktop publishing. Its support for layers, multiple pages, deep color, and various compression schemes made it the standard for scanning, prepress, and professional photography masters. Adobe acquired it in 1994 and TIFF is still the print industry's preferred format.
Technical specs
- Format name
- Tagged Image File Format
- File extension
- .tiff
- MIME type
- image/tiff
- Category
- Image
- Compression
- Lossless
When to use TIFF
Reach for TIFF when you need print publishing and prepress, document scanning and archival, professional photography masters, medical and scientific imaging. It excels at these scenarios because lossless quality preservation and supports multiple pages and layers.
Pros
- +Lossless quality preservation
- +Supports multiple pages and layers
- +Wide industry adoption in print/publishing
When to avoid TIFF
Avoid TIFF when very large file sizes, and limited browser and casual app support. In those cases, look at the alternatives below.
Cons
- −Very large file sizes
- −Limited browser and casual app support
- −Overkill for web use
Common uses for TIFF
- Print publishing and prepress
- Document scanning and archival
- Professional photography masters
- Medical and scientific imaging
Alternatives to TIFF
For web-friendly file sizes, JPG or WebP. PNG for lossless web use. FLAC isn't an image format — included here because we link to Zen Convert's pairs that swap TIFF for those alternatives.
Convert TIFF to…
Convert to TIFF from…
TIFF — Frequently Asked Questions
Is TIFF still used in 2026?
Is TIFF still used in 2026?
Yes, in publishing, scanning, and professional photography. Outside those fields, TIFF is rarely the right format.
Can I open a TIFF file on my phone?
Can I open a TIFF file on my phone?
Yes, but file viewers often handle it poorly. Convert to JPG or PNG for casual viewing.
Why is my TIFF file so large?
Why is my TIFF file so large?
TIFF is uncompressed or lightly compressed — every detail of the original signal is preserved. That fidelity costs disk space. To shrink files significantly, convert to a more compressed format from the same category.
Can I convert TIFF to another format for free?
Can I convert TIFF to another format for free?
Yes — Zen Convert converts TIFF files to every other image format we support, for free, in your browser. No signup, no watermark.
Is TIFF open-source?
Is TIFF open-source?
TIFF is openly documented (Adobe published the spec). Various compression schemes inside may have their own licensing.