tiff vs jpeg: What is the difference in saving an image as tiff or jpeg? I generally capture RAW images, copy, and adjust with various software tools, then I have the option to save in...

batchld75 Loc: West Coast CA

What is the difference in saving an image as tiff or jpeg? I generally capture RAW images, copy, and adjust with various software tools, then I have the option to save in different formats.

BebuLamar

There are 16 bit TIFF and 8 bit TIFF and both are uncompressed. The 8 bit TIFF has the same information as the 8 bit JPEG but since the JPEG is compressed a lot of details deemed not visible are discarded. TIFF files because uncompressed they are a lot larger than JPEG. They are larger than raw files also.

therwol Loc: USA

BebuLamar wrote:

There are 16 bit TIFF and 8 bit TIFF and both are uncompressed. The 8 bit TIFF has the same information as the 8 bit JPEG but since the JPEG is compressed a lot of details deemed not visible are discarded. TIFF files because uncompressed they are a lot larger than JPEG. They are larger than raw files also.

I don't know about every camera, but my Nikon D850 produces 8 bit tiff files. The only advantage is that tiff files can be edited over and over without loss of information from repeated jpeg compression. The files tend to be huge compared with jpeg files and really aren't suitable for sharing. You really don't gain anything over editing RAW files.

When I scanned my negatives/slides/prints, I scanned to 16 bit tiff files. That's another animal, capturing far greater color depth. I edited those and saved them as jpegs.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar wrote:

There are 16 bit TIFF and 8 bit TIFF and both are uncompressed. The 8 bit TIFF has the same information as the 8 bit JPEG but since the JPEG is compressed a lot of details deemed not visible are discarded. TIFF files because uncompressed they are a lot larger than JPEG. They are larger than raw files also.

Do you know if all/most print houses accept TIFF files?
I'd love to see the same print from a TIFF and a JPEG.

BebuLamar

Longshadow wrote:

Do you know if all/most print houses accept TIFF files?
I'd love to see the same print from a TIFF and a JPEG.

I bet you won't see the difference. Unless you alter the JPEG like making it brighter, changing it contrast etc.. you won't see what it discarded for the compression. If you make a JPEG brighter you will see it discarded a lot of the details that can be revealed in the deep shadow if the file were TIFF.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar wrote:

I bet you won't see the difference. Unless you alter the JPEG like making it brighter, changing it contrast etc.. you won't see what it discarded for the compression. If you make a JPEG brighter you will see it discarded a lot of the details that can be revealed in the deep shadow if the file were TIFF.

That's what I would have surmised, no visible difference, except maybe with a magnifying glass?
I have print houses print from JPEG. That's it, simple.
The fact that one file is "larger" and contains "more information" is most likely an obsession based on KNOWING a difference exists, whether discernible or not, THEY ARE DIFFERENT........ONE has more information!
IF anything is/may be discernible, it would only be evident on comparing the two results.
Most people viewing a single image would probably not care if it was made from a JPEG, TIFF, or FART.

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

Longshadow wrote:

Do you know if all/most print houses accept TIFF files?
I'd love to see the same print from a TIFF and a JPEG.

LF, PhotoShop once in the beiginning might not have understood TIFF, but but it reads both TIFF and JPEG just fine now. Hasselblad's own editing software, Phocus, edits either one. But Phocus opens Hasselblad pictures raw as TIFF. When you edit and choose to save, you can save in either format. So surely any publisher or print house can deal with either.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Charles 46277 wrote:

LF, PhotoShop once in the beiginning might not have understood TIFF, but but it reads both TIFF and JPEG just fine now. Hasselblad's own editing software, Phocus, edits either one. But Phocus opens Hasselblad pictures raw as TIFF. When you edit and choose to save, you can save in either format. So surely any publisher or print house can deal with either.

That's a supposition, correct?

I have an editor that can edit a .CR2 file, but I doubt print houses can print from it.
Editing software and printing software are not necessarily created equal........

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

Charles 46277 wrote:

LF, PhotoShop once in the beiginning might not have understood TIFF, but but it reads both TIFF and JPEG just fine now. Hasselblad's own editing software, Phocus, edits either one. But Phocus opens Hasselblad pictures raw as TIFF. When you edit and choose to save, you can save in either format. So surely any publisher or print house can deal with either.

p.s.
Whatever edit sofware you use, say Photoshop, you can save an image either as JPEG or TIFF, and print each or look at both on the monitor. Sometimes I think I see a difference favoring TIFF--it may depend on the nature of the image, or upon the degree of enlargement.

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

Longshadow wrote:

That's a supposition, correct?

I have an editor that can edit a .CR2 file, but I doubt print houses can print from it.
Editing software and printing software are not necessarily created equal........

Yes--the supposition is taken from the fact that PhotoShop works with both, so...

I assumed your print houses can read and edit any common format--and save it to a printable format.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Charles 46277 wrote:

Yes--the supposition is taken from the fact that PhotoShop works with both, so...

I assumed your print houses can read and edit any common format--and save it to a printable format.

I always send JPEGs......

User ID

BebuLamar wrote:

There are 16 bit TIFF and 8 bit TIFF and both are uncompressed. The 8 bit TIFF has the same information as the 8 bit JPEG but since the JPEG is compressed a lot of details deemed not visible are discarded. TIFF files because uncompressed they are a lot larger than JPEG. They are larger than raw files also.

In the earliest days of digital editting, when there were only two 11x17 flatbed scanners the choose from our scanner made tiffs, no jpegs. Files were about 4MB max, and PS running on a CAD station ran damnt slow editting them.

With modern PCs and storage large tiffs are really not the problem they once were.

User ID

Longshadow wrote:

That's a supposition, correct?

I have an editor that can edit a .CR2 file, but I doubt print houses can print from it.
Editing software and printing software are not necessarily created equal........

Tiffs and jpegs are generic, while CR2 files are proprietary. Anyone creating printing software will take that into account, not to mention that a CR2 is NOT an image file anywho.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

User ID wrote:

Tiffs and jpegs are generic, while CR2 files are proprietary. Anyone creating printing software will take that into account, not to mention that a CR2 is NOT an image file anywho.

Back to the question of how different would a same size print look from a TIFF vs. JPEG?
1% noticeable? 20% noticeable? 50% noticeable?

Won't the printer driver simply reduce more data from the TIFF file to the same amount of dots in the printer as it would for a JPEG? Would that reduction difference be noticeable?
I have never printed a TIFF file so I have no idea.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

Longshadow wrote:

Back to the question of how different would a same size print look from a TIFF vs. JPEG?
1% noticeable? 20% noticeable? 50% noticeable?

Won't the printer driver simply reduce more data from the TIFF file to the same amount of dots in the printer as it would for a JPEG? Would that reduction difference be noticeable?
I have never printed a TIFF file so I have no idea.

Different printing companies have different requirements or limits. The best way to answer a question like this is to ask the printer directly. When I was interested in printing I found that many would only do JPG but some would do other (better?) formats. As far as I know, however, none will take raw files directly because (insert here all the reasons!).