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Uncompressed, LZW, or ZIP TIFF for a Retained Photo Scan?

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LZW and ZIP are lossless TIFF compression choices in supported workflows, while TIFF can also contain other encodings, including lossy JPEG compression. Choose a method accepted by the receiving software or archive, retain the source, and verify the saved file's image and required metadata. The TIFF suffix alone does not describe its compression or editing features.

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Define the retention requirement

Check whether the receiving institution, scanning service, or editing workflow specifies compression, bit depth, layers, and profile handling. Follow those requirements rather than choosing a universal archival preset. Adobe's TIFF export guidance distinguishes image compression from layer compression and other options. A layered working TIFF and a simple flattened interchange TIFF can serve different roles. Keep the role and chosen settings in the inventory so a later editor knows what information was intended to survive.

Test a representative file

Save duplicates using the supported candidate methods and open them in the software that must read the collection. Compare dimensions, appearance, bit depth, transparency if relevant, and descriptive fields. Byte sizes can differ even when decoded image data matches, so file size alone is not a quality measure. Check a large or unusual source as well as a simple portrait, because compatibility problems may arise only in certain document states or application combinations.

Retain the accepted encoding record

Keep the chosen TIFF output and its settings alongside the source relationship. If converting an earlier JPEG to TIFF, state that provenance; a lossless container does not undo the JPEG's prior losses. Export ordinary upload or viewing copies separately where the destination needs another format. Reopen a sample after transfer, and do not discard a stronger original merely because the new TIFF looks larger or carries a more archival-sounding filename.

Before you accept this working copy

  • The destination's TIFF requirements are known.
  • Compression is distinguished from layers and bit depth.
  • A transferred sample opens with the expected information.

Sources and further reading

Questions about this restoration task

Does converting JPEG to uncompressed TIFF improve its authentic detail?

No. It can avoid additional lossy encoding in later work, but it cannot recreate information discarded by the earlier JPEG generation.

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