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*Details: File format summary

    
 

 

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Summary
Name Tagged Image File Format
Version  
Other names TIFF
Identifiers PUID:  fmt/353
MIME:  image/tiff
Apple Uniform Type Identifier:  public.tiff
Family  
Classification Image (Raster)
Disclosure Full
Description The Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) is a raster image format originally developed by the Aldus Corporation, primarily for use in scanning and desktop publishing. When Adobe Systems Incorporated purchased Aldus in 1994, they acquired the rights to the TIFF format and have maintained it since then. TIFF files comprise three sections: an Image File Header (IFH), an Image File Directory (IFD), and the image data. TIFF files can contain multiple images (multi-page TIFF), and each image has a separate IFD. The IFH always appears at the beginning of the file, and is immediately followed by a pointer to the first IFD. The IFD contains metadata which describes the associated image, stored as a series of tags. The IFD also contains a pointer to the actual image data. TIFF supports colour depths from 1 bit to 24 bit (e.g. monochrome to true colour), and a wide range of compression types (RLE, LZW, CCITT Group 3 and Group 4, and JPEG), as well as uncompressed data.
Orientation  
Byte order Little-endian (Intel) and Big-endian (Motorola)
Related file formats Has lower priority than Exchangeable Image File Format (Uncompressed) (2.2)
Has lower priority than Exchangeable Image File Format (Uncompressed) (2.1)
Has lower priority than Exchangeable Image File Format (Uncompressed) (2.0)
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.1)
Has lower priority than Tagged Image File Format for Electronic Photography (TIFF/EP)  
Has lower priority than Geographic Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF)  
Has lower priority than Tagged Image File Format for Internet Fax (TIFF-FX)  
Has lower priority than Sony ARW RAW Image File (1.x)
Has lower priority than Kodak Digital Camera Raw Image File  
Has lower priority than Nikon Digital SLR Camera Raw Image File  
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.0)
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.2)
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.3)
Has lower priority than Canon RAW (2.0)
Has lower priority than Epson Raw Image Format  
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.4)
Has lower priority than Phase One IIQ Raw Image  
Has lower priority than Hasselblad 3FR Raw Image  
Has lower priority than Leaf Mosaic Raw Image  
Has lower priority than Sony SR2 RAW Image File  
Has lower priority than Sony ARW RAW Image File (2.x)
Has lower priority than CorelCHART Document (3-4)
Has lower priority than CorelCHART Document (5)
Has lower priority than XIFF (Xerox Image File Format) (2)
Has lower priority than XIFF (Xerox Image File Format) (3)
Has lower priority than Pentax PEF Image File  
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.5)
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.6)
Has lower priority than Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.7)
Has priority over MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3  
Is supertype of Geographic Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF)  
Is supertype of Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.0)
Is supertype of Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.2)
Is supertype of Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.3)
Is supertype of Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.4)
Is supertype of Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.5)
Is supertype of Digital Negative Format (DNG) (1.6)
Technical Environment  
Released 01 Aug 1986
Supported until  
Format Risk  
Developed by Aldus Corporation
Supported by None.
Source Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives
Source date 07 Jul 2011
Source description  
Last updated 09 Dec 2021
Note PUID created for the TIFF format in response to the difficulties we have been having with multiple identification of the format and a consensus on a new interpretation of the standard from within The National Archives and outside with external stakeholders. Documentation: https://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/com16/tiff-fx/docs/tiff6.pdf http://www.alternatiff.com/resources/TIFFPM6.pdf http://www.alternatiff.com/resources/TIFFphotoshop.pd
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