JPG vs. TIFF: Which Should You Choose?
Our standard JPG images are ideal for most everyday uses. But if you’re creating poster-sized prints or need maximum color accuracy, TIFF may be the better option.
What is a TIFF file?
TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. It’s a professional, high-quality file type often used by photographers, archivists, and graphic designers. The biggest advantage is that TIFF files are lossless, meaning they don’t throw away any data when saved. Every pixel of detail, tone, and color from your original scan is preserved.
By comparison, JPG files are compressed. This makes them much smaller and easier to share or store, but it also means some fine detail and subtle color information are permanently lost. For most uses—like photo books, slideshows, or social media—JPGs are more than enough. But for large prints, editing, or long-term archiving, TIFF is the safer bet.
File size example:
A standard 4x6 photo scanned at 600 DPI saved as TIFF is about 25 MB, compared to roughly 8 MB for the same image saved as a JPG. Because of their size, TIFF scans are delivered by upload only. Just a few hundred TIFFs can quickly fill a typical computer hard drive.