Format

Tagged Image File Format

Summary

Name

Tagged Image File Format

Identifiers

• PUID: fmt/353
• MIME: image/tiff
• Apple Uniform Type Identifier: public.tiff

Format type

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.

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

File extensions

tif, tiff

Source

Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives

Developed by

Aldus Corporation

Relationships

Has lower priority than

• Exchangeable Image File Format (Uncompressed) 2.2
• Exchangeable Image File Format (Uncompressed) 2.1
• Exchangeable Image File Format (Uncompressed) 2.0
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.1
• Tagged Image File Format for Electronic Photography (TIFF/EP)
• Geographic Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF)
• Tagged Image File Format for Internet Fax (TIFF-FX)
• Sony ARW RAW Image File 1.x
• Kodak Digital Camera Raw Image File
• Nikon Digital SLR Camera Raw Image File
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.0
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.2
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.3
• Canon RAW 2.0
• Epson Raw Image Format
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.4
• Phase One IIQ Raw Image
• Hasselblad 3FR Raw Image
• Leaf Mosaic Raw Image
• Sony SR2 RAW Image File
• Sony ARW RAW Image File 2.x
• CorelCHART Document 3-4
• CorelCHART Document 5
• XIFF (Xerox Image File Format) 2
• XIFF (Xerox Image File Format) 3
• Pentax PEF Image File
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.5
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.6
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.7

Has priority over

• MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3

Is supertype of

• Geographic Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF)
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.0
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.2
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.3
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.4
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.5
• Digital Negative Format (DNG) 1.6

Internal signatures

Changelog

• Updated in V100

  Release date

  16 December 2021

  Tagged Image File Format: Removed or updated expired documentation links.

• Updated in V97

  Release date

  1 October 2020

  Tagged Image File Format: Links to documentation updated. Submitted by Amsterdam City Archives.

• Updated in V94

  Release date

  17 September 2018

  Tagged Image File Format: Given priority over MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3 fmt/134 due to rare clash condition reported by National Library of New Zealand.

• Added in V51

  Release date

  15 July 2011

  Tagged Image File Format: Full entry added.