PDF Vs TIFF 2022: Top Full Comparison For Your Choice

There are many different image files, but two of the most common are PDF Vs TIFF. PDF files are created by Adobe Acrobat and are widely used for documents, while TIFF files are often used for images. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, so it cannot be easy to decide which one to use.

PDF and TIFF are both formats used to store digital images. They both have their pros and cons, but which is the best format for you?

PDF

PDF is the newest file format, having been created in 1993. PDF is a popular format for document scanning. It can be used with many applications and has mass compatibility.

Mass compatibility

You can view PDF in multiple formats, including PDF for printing, transactional printing, and engineering.

Better Web support

PDF is the best choice if you are looking for a web form.

More secure

PDF is the legal requirement to sign and comply with laws. It can be viewed on any OS, making it ideal for legal forms.

These are important considerations to keep in mind when selecting a file format. Talk to us about your project.

TIFF

TIFF file formats were first created in the 1980s. Aldus Corporation started scanning black-and-white images and faxes into digital format in the mid-1980s. TIFF can now be used in grayscale or color. There are many advantages to using TIFF instead of PDF.

Document retrieval

TIFF files can be much smaller than pdf files and converted to a single page. TIFF files are much easier to view than a pdf file, and they’re also much quicker to index.

Adding details

A single-page TIFF can make adding signature forms, pages, amendments, and other details easier than a PDF.

Storage

TIFF can take up much less space than a PDF because it is compressed. If you have many files, scanning them in TIFF can help you save space.

TIFF or PDF – Key Decision Criteria

This section focuses on the main factors that should be considered when deciding which format to use.

File size

While PDF can allow smaller files to be produced for the same document, many issues need to be addressed. It is useful to examine each of the “types” mentioned above.

Longevity

While widespread historical adoption of TIFF will ensure viewers’ access for some time, long-term standards-based preservation is possible with the presence of the standard PDF/A. PDF is the obvious choice.

PDF/A (ISO 19005-1-2005) is a subset of PDF1.4 used for long-term archives.

Searchability

TIFF was created to store images only and not text. Therefore, standard TIFF cannot be searchable unless an OCR process creates a separate text file that is separately indexed. Microsoft introduced text searchable TIFFs created with Office Professional’s Document Imaging component, but it is not widely supported.

PDF is designed to allow full searchability of documents, as long as the document contains the text. Except for images, PDF can be searched in any way you like. External search tools that index PDFs are also available.

Security

TIFF doesn’t have a security model, so users can only allow or deny access to the document. However, PDF has a sophisticated security program that can restrict access or set passwords for document access.

Portability

TIFF and PDF can be used across all operating systems. It is easy to use Adobe viewer on all platforms, including UNIX and Linux.

Metadata

TIFF files can use TIFF Tags to store basic metadata, just like PDF via the PDF Information Dictionary. PDF permits for more complex XML-based metadata via XMP to be embedded into PDF files.

Document Structure

TIFF standard does not provide any other method of defining the structure of documents beyond the sequencing pages. PDF documents can contain bookmarks, hyperlinks, tags, and annotations.

Accessibility

The proper use of PDF document structure allows for effective assistive technology such as screen readers. TIFF doesn’t support the required document structures to allow this.

Suitability is an input format.

Most applications, such as Microsoft Word or Graphics packages, can accept TIFF images for input but not PDF files.

High-Quality Presentation

The best PDF file format for viewing and printing is the “Normal” one. This is because bitmaps stored as TIFFs or image PDFs have a low resolution. TIFFs with a sufficient resolution will suffice for most purposes.

Viewers available

Both PDF and TIFF viewers are freely available, but the exact functionality of TIFF viewers can differ significantly.

Suitability for web delivery

Like nearly all multipage document file formats, TIFF and PDF files are not natively supported by most web browsers. You will need either a server-side plugin or client-side processing to display both files.

Adobe Reader is a free browser plug-in that allows you to view PDF Files. There are many plugins available for TIFF viewing. TIFF Server, a server-side product, allows browser delivery of TIFF and PDF files.

PDF files can be made “web-optimized” (linearized), which allows them to be delivered to the web via a plugin. This allows pages to be displayed immediately after being downloaded, rather than waiting to receive the entire file before showing the first page.

Ease of Conversion

Autobahn DX is a tool that allows you to convert TIFF files into Image PDF, Searchable PDF, and other formats.

These tools can also convert PDF to TIFF, but there is a risk of losing information like document structure or metadata.

Legal Admissibility

The legal admissibility of electronic documents and the weight of evidence attached vary from country to country.

The BSI publication Code for practice for legal admissibility, evidential weight information stored electronically addresses the UK’s situation. TIFF files and PDF files are acceptable if the appropriate processes are followed.

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FAQ

Is TIFF the best format?

If you are looking for high resolution, transparency, layering, transparency, and the flexibility to choose between lossy or lossless compression, TIFFs might be a good option. TIFFs can also be used as containers for other file types.

Can you save a TIFF file as a PDF?

Steps: Right-click on the TIFF file and select Save As PDF (Advanced) from the context menu. Select any destination folder to which the PDF file will be saved from the Merge all to one PDF In.

Is PDF safer than JPEG?

PDF images are more reliable than jpeg because they are identical to the original file. This makes them ideal for file sharing. A pdf file can be compressed, but not like a jpeg. This will not alter or cause any damage to the original file you are trying to print or share.

Which is better, JPEG or TIFF?

TIFF files and JPEG files differ in that TIFF files can store more image data and are therefore lossless. On the other hand, JPEGs are compressed with some image data and are smaller but have lower-quality images.

Conclusion

There are many benefits of using PDFs over TIFFs. PDFs are searchable, meaning that you can easily find the information you need, and they can be read on any device. TIFFs, on the other hand, are not searchable and can only be read on devices that have the software to open them.