AVIFify

TIFF

.tiff

A 1986 lossless format favoured in print and scanning archives. Browsers can't display it, so convert TIFF to AVIF for online use.

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TIFF is the master format you keep, not the format you put on the web. It stores an image at full fidelity — lossless or uncompressed, 16-bit-per-channel, CMYK, layered, multi-page — so it survives repeated edits and print handoff without compounding loss. Browsers do not display it, so the web copy is a separate file: you keep the TIFF master and export a compressed AVIF for delivery. This page covers where TIFF came from, why it is huge and undeliverable, and how its tonal range maps onto AVIF for the web.

What TIFF is built for

TIFF is built to preserve an image exactly, across an editing and print pipeline. The acronym expands to Tagged Image File Format, and the "tagged" part is the whole design: every property — width, bit depth, compression, colour space — is a numbered tag, so the format is an extensible container rather than a fixed layout. That container holds capabilities the web never needed:

  • Lossless or uncompressed pixels — re-saving never adds artefacts.
  • 16-bit and 32-bit per channel — far more tonal headroom than 8-bit JPEG.
  • CMYK and other print colour models — the ink space commercial presses require.
  • Multi-page subfiles — many images in one file, used for scanned documents.

The format does one job: it is the high-fidelity original that everything else is derived from. Compressed delivery formats are the derivatives.

Where TIFF came from

TIFF was published by Aldus Corporation in 1986 to unify desktop scanner output. Each scanner vendor shipped its own file format, so software had to be written per device. Aldus, later acquired by Adobe, defined one container every scanner could target. The format then grew through documented revisions: Revision 5.0 added palette colour and LZW compression in 1988, and TIFF Revision 6.0 added CMYK, YCbCr, and JPEG-in-TIFF compression in 1992. Revision 6.0 also split the spec into Baseline TIFF, which every reader must support, and optional Extensions. That split explains TIFF's reputation for compatibility surprises: two readers can both be valid yet support different extension subsets, per the TIFF entry on Wikipedia.

Why TIFF never reaches the browser

No mainstream browser renders TIFF as a normal image, so it is not a web-deliverable format. A .tiff file referenced in an <img> tag shows a broken image or triggers a download in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge; only Safari decodes it, per WindowsReport's browser-support survey. Two structural reasons sit behind this:

  1. File size. A 4000×3000 photo is roughly 34 MB uncompressed and still 12–25 MB with LZW; the same photo is under 300 KB as AVIF.
  2. No standard wire format. TIFF's extension subsets and exotic colour models give browser engines no reliable target to decode.

The fix is conversion, not a plugin. Decode the TIFF once and serve a small AVIF that every modern browser displays natively.

The keep-master, export-AVIF workflow

The correct pipeline keeps the TIFF as the archived master and ships an exported AVIF to users. The TIFF stays in your asset library, edited and re-edited losslessly; each web page references a derived file generated from it. Practically:

  • Keep the TIFF (or camera RAW) as the editing and archival original.
  • Export an AVIF derivative for each delivery size.
  • Reference only the derivative in HTML — never link the TIFF directly.

Concrete example: a magazine retouches a hero shot as a 16-bit CMYK TIFF for print, then exports an 8-bit AVIF at 1600 px for the article online. The press gets the TIFF; the browser gets the AVIF. Because AVIF re-encoding is lossy, always export from the TIFF master rather than from a prior AVIF — see Lossy vs Lossless Compression.

How AVIF preserves what web delivery needs

AVIF carries enough tonal precision to represent a TIFF master faithfully on screen. TIFF's 16-bit depth matters during editing, where gradient operations would clip in 8 bits; the delivered image rarely needs all of it. AVIF supports 10-bit and 12-bit colour, far beyond the 8-bit ceiling of JPEG, so the smooth gradients a high-bit TIFF protects survive the export without banding. It adds wide-gamut and HDR signalling for content mastered beyond sRGB. The web copy loses TIFF's CMYK and layers — which browsers cannot use anyway — while keeping the visible tonal range. For the export settings that hold this quality, see AVIF Compression Settings and AVIF Optimization.

How TIFF compares to other masters and web formats

TIFF is the lossless print/archival master; AVIF, JPG, and PNG are the web derivatives you export. The distinction is delivery, not quality:

  • PNG is lossless like TIFF but RGB-only and web-native — a reasonable lossless web target. See AVIF vs PNG.
  • JPG is the universal lossy fallback for the small share of browsers without AVIF. See AVIF vs JPG.
  • WebP sits between JPG and AVIF as an intermediate fallback.

For lossless web output from a TIFF, PNG works but is large; AVIF at high quality is far smaller for near-identical results.

Frequently asked questions

Can browsers show TIFF?

No — only Safari renders TIFF natively. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge cannot, so a .tiff link shows a broken image or downloads the file. Convert the TIFF to a web format before publishing.

How do I put a TIFF on a website?

Convert it to AVIF or JPG first, then reference the converted file. AVIF gives the smallest size at high quality; JPG is the universal fallback. If you already have an AVIF version, Convert AVIF to JPG or Convert AVIF to PNG for editing copies.

Should I store images as TIFF or AVIF?

Store the editing master as TIFF and deliver AVIF. TIFF preserves layers, CMYK, and 16-bit depth for re-editing; AVIF is the small, lossy file users download. Re-export AVIF from the TIFF whenever the master changes.

Does converting TIFF to AVIF lose quality?

Yes, slightly — AVIF is lossy by default, so a single export drops detail invisible at normal viewing. Keep the TIFF master and re-export rather than editing the AVIF. To convert a working copy back, use Convert JPG to AVIF or Convert PNG to AVIF.

Sources and further reading