Why TIFF is the Best Format For Scanning Family Photos

Updated Jul 14, 2023

Scanners ask you to choose a file format, but many of the options aren’t suited to preserve your treasured photos.

Digitizing family photos is a laborious process and you don’t want to chose a file format that compromises image quality, or won’t be accessible to future generations.

TIFF is a tried-and-true, widely compatible format for archiving high quality images. In this article I’ll explain what makes TIFF the best choice for scanning your photos, which settings you should scan with, and where the other formats fall short.

How I scan most photographs

File format: TIF (or TIFF)
Quality: 600 dpi or more (no less than 300 dpi)
Bitrate: 16-bit
Compression: LZW

Typical image format options in scanners

Scanners typically offer a range of formats. This lets users to choose between compressed files for convenience or lossless formats for preserving image quality. The formats you’ll commonly encounter are:

JPG: (or JPEG) A widely used format that balances image quality and file size, suitable for everyday photos but may result in slight loss of quality.
TIFF: (or TIF) A format known for preserving high-quality images without any loss, making it ideal for professional and archival purposes.
PDF: A versatile format that can store multiple scanned images in a single document, sharing and viewing across different devices.
PICT: A format commonly used on older Apple computers for storing images.
PNG: A format that offers lossless compression and supports transparency, making it great for graphics, logos, and images with sharp edges.
GIF: A format mainly used for animated images, like memes and short loops, but with limited color support and lower image quality compared to other formats.
WEBP: A modern format designed for web use, offering high compression while maintaining good image quality, suitable for faster loading times on websites.

TIFF has the right balance of quality, longevity, & compatibility

TIFF is a great format to choose when scanning photos for long-term archival because it can store images at a very high quality, has multiple optional compression methods in case you want to save space, is widely compatible, and can package metadata like captions and GPS coordinates inside the file.

TIFFs Can Be Compressed Without Losing Quality

TIFF files are usually many times larger than JPEGs, but the format offers different compression options to reduce file size. Each compression algorithm comes with its own advantages and considerations.

No Compression: Store image data without any reduction in size. This ensures every pixel remains intact.
LZW or ZIP: “Lossless” compression algorithms that can reduce file size without destroying image quality.
JPEG: “Lossy” compression that achieves very small file sizes by sacrificing image quality.

You can pick the right TIFF compression algorithm by deciding whether retention of image quality or small file size is your top priority.

TIFF Can Store Trillions of Colors

8-bit TIFFs can store millions of colors, and 16-bit TIFFs can store trillions. Both options typically yield files larger than your average JPEG, but saving space can be less of a concern if you’re scanning for long-term archival on large, external disks. When you want to retain the highest level of quality, and you’re often willing to devote more space per file.

TIFF Is Widely Compatible

TIFF has been around since the 1980’s and has established itself as a standard format for storing images. Its longevity has allowed it to become widely supported by various software applications, operating systems, and devices.

TIFF has been standardized by industry organizations like Adobe and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Windows, Mac OS, iOS, iPad OS, Android, and Linux all understand the format, as do most image viewers, editors, and web browsers.

The format’s ubiquity makes it hard to ignore. Developers of image editing and viewing software will likely need to continue supporting TIFF for many years to come, even if a successor emerges.

Why not use JPEG?

JPEG is an acceptable choice for scanning photos due to its wide compatibility and efficient compression, which reduces file sizes while maintaining reasonable image quality. However, when the goal is to scan high-quality images for long-term archival purposes, TIFF surpasses JPEG for several reasons:

JPEG Compression Sacrifices Image Quality

JPEG uses lossy compression, which means it discards some image information during compression to achieve smaller file sizes. While this compression allows for efficient storage and sharing, it results in a loss of image quality over time, especially with repeated editing or re-saving. In contrast, TIFF supports both lossless compression and uncompressed storage, preserving the original image quality without any degradation.

Scanning photos for long-term archival often involves capturing and preserving the finest details, colors, and nuances of the original image. TIFF’s ability to store images without any loss or degradation ensures that every detail is faithfully preserved. In contrast, the lossy compression of JPEG may lead to subtle loss of image details, particularly in areas with fine textures, gradients, or sharp edges.

Editing Flexibility

Archival images may require future editing, restoration, or enhancement. TIFF’s lossless nature allows for greater flexibility in post-processing and manipulation without compromising image quality. On the other hand, when JPEG images are repeatedly edited and saved, the compression artifacts accumulate resulting in a degradation of image quality over time. This makes JPEG less suitable for extensive editing or restoration work.

While JPEG offers convenience and smaller file sizes, TIFF’s lossless compression, preservation of image details, editing flexibility, and recognition as an archival standard make it a superior choice when the goal is to scan high-quality images for long-term archival and preservation.

Why not PDF?

While PDF (Portable Document Format) is a versatile format for documents, it is not considered the best choice when scanning photos for archival purposes. Here are a few reasons why:

PDF files may use lossy compression methods to reduce file size, like JPEG. This can result in a loss of image quality and details, which is not desirable when preserving photos. Lossy compression can degrade the image over time, making PDF less suitable for maintaining the highest level of image fidelity.

PDFs Don’t Embed IPTC Metadata

PDF files have limited support for embedding comprehensive metadata related to the scanned photos. Metadata, such as capture date, location, and other descriptive information, is crucial for effective organization, searchability, and contextual understanding of archival photos.

PDF is a Generalist Format

PDFs have a complex structure that combines various elements such as text, images, and formatting. While this complexity is advantageous for document-centric content, it can complicate the long-term preservation and extraction of individual photos.

PDFs are primarily designed for viewing and sharing documents in a consistent format, rather than extensive image editing or manipulation. Archival photos may require future adjustments, enhancements, or restoration work, and TIFF’s lossless nature and wide compatibility with editing software make it more suitable for these purposes.

Specialized Formats are Better

While PDF can be useful for certain document-related tasks and combining scanned images with text or annotations, its limitations in terms of image quality, metadata support, complex structure, and editing flexibility make it less ideal for scanning photos for long-term archival. TIFF, with its focus on preserving image quality, metadata embedding, simplicity, and editing flexibility, remains a more suitable choice for archival purposes.

TIFF, with its simpler and more straightforward structure, is better suited for the specific purpose of image archival.

Why not PICT?

The PICT format is historically associated with Apple computers and may have limited compatibility with other platforms and software applications. This can pose challenges when accessing or transferring the scanned photos to non-Apple systems or software.

Over time, the usage and industry support for PICT format have significantly declined. Some modern (and future) applications may not fully recognize the PICT format.

The compatibility risks of choosing PICT are a non-starter. Choosing it as the format for your family photos may limit their accessibility and compatibility with current and future software and devices.

Why not PNG or GIF?

GIF only supports 8-bit color depth, which can result in color banding and a loss of fidelity when saving photos with intricate details.

PNG supports 24-bit color and lossless compression but doesn’t offer you the choice between algorithms like TIFF. PNG also doesn’t support CMYK colors, which is something you may want when making prints.

PNG and GIF formats are commonly used for graphics and web images with solid colors and straight lines, whereas TIFF is better suited for photographs.

Why not WEBP?

WEBP is a relatively new image format primarily designed for web usage. While it offers efficient compression and smaller file sizes, it has limited adoption and support compared to more established archival formats like TIFF or JPEG. It’s too early to tell whether WEBP will gain enough support to be a good archival format.

Conclusion

As an archivist, one wants to scan photographs into the file format offering…

The highest image quality at the most economical file size.
Compatibility with the most software across various computers and mobile devices.
Capability to package descriptive data and information inside the file.

These are the keys that ensure us and future generations can see our memories and know their context.

By choosing TIFF as the file format for scanning archival copies, you can be confident that your photos will retain their quality and integrity for years to come.