TIFF is a versatile and flexible raster image format. Companies like Microsoft, Aldus Corporation, and Hewlett Packard developed it in 1986 to standardize image exchange. Today, TIFF is the standard format for rasterized photographs and for transmitting print data. In a TIFF file, any objects, including vector and text information, are stored as raster data. An alpha channel allows individual pixels to be transparent in addition to storing color information.
A TIFF file supports grayscale as well as RBG,CMYK, and LAB color space. The format allows a color depth of up to 16 bits per color channel and is therefore ideal for data exchange during a RAW conversion.
The abbreviation TIFF, or more rarely TIF, stands for “Tagged Image File Format”. This designation indicates the structure of a TIFF file: In essence, the file consists of data fields that are tagged to hold comprehensivemeta data.
While the so-called baseline tags are always present (for example, for the image width or the color depth), the extension tags are optional (for example, for the software name). GeoTIFF is a special format which contains information about the GPS position and coordinates exactly where the image was taken. The GeoTIFF format is used for map images or aerial images, among others.
These tags form the basis of the complexity of TIFF files. Not every program can read all tags correctly, especially the extension tags. In some cases, this leads to an incorrect display. It should also be noted that not every program can read the LAB color space. To counteract this problem, so-called baseline TIFFs are used, which contain a maximum of twelve tags with limited values.