How to use it
- Drop in TIFF files.
- Choose a quality. For scanned documents, 85% keeps text readable at a small size.
- Download the JPGs. Multi-page files come as a zip.
Where TIFFs come from
TIFF has been around since 1986 and is still the workhorse of scanning, archiving, publishing and fax. Scanners default to it because it can store images without loss, with high bit depths and multiple pages in one file. Those same qualities make TIFFs very large and awkward to share. Only Safari can display a TIFF in a web page, and many email systems and upload forms refuse them.
Multi-page files
A multi-page TIFF, common from document scanners and fax software, gives you one JPG per page, named -page-1, -page-2 and so on. If you would rather have all the pages in one document, convert them to JPG here and then combine them with JPG to PDF.
Compressed and unusual TIFFs
TIFF allows many kinds of internal compression. This converter reads uncompressed, LZW, Deflate (ZIP), PackBits and JPEG-compressed TIFFs, which covers the vast majority. Some specialist variants, such as certain CMYK files from print software or 32-bit floating point scientific images, may not convert accurately.
TIFF and JPG compared
| TIFF | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| First released | 1986 | 1992 |
| Compression | None, lossless, or JPEG inside | Lossy |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation or pages | Multiple pages | No |
| Best for | Scanning, print and archives | Photos for sharing, email and print |
| Support | Professional software; Safari is the only major browser | Universal |
Questions people ask
Can I convert a multi-page TIFF?
Yes. Each page becomes its own JPG, and you can download them together as a zip.
Why is the JPG so much smaller than the TIFF?
Most TIFFs are stored losslessly or uncompressed. JPG uses lossy compression tuned for photographs.
Will text in scanned documents stay readable?
At 85% quality and above, yes. For crisp black text, TIFF to PNG is lossless and handles text better.