TIFF Tutorial
TIFF file format compression schemes and encoding types
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TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is one of the most popular and flexible of the current
public domain raster file formats. The TIFF file format does not favor any operating system, compiler
or processor. TIFF is designed for raster data interchange. TIFF's main strengths are a highly
flexible and platform-independent format that is supported by numerous image-processing applications. Since
developers of printers, scanners and monitors designed it, the TIFF format has a rich space of information
elements for colorimetry calibration, gamut tables, etc. Such information is also very useful for remote sensing
and multi-spectral applications.
Another powerful feature of TIFF is the ability to break an image into tiles rather than scan lines. This allows for efficient access to very large images which have been compressed.
Another powerful feature of TIFF is the ability to break an image into tiles rather than scan lines. This allows for efficient access to very large images which have been compressed.
Encoding name (in FM software)
Description
None
Uncompressed.
No compression, the image data stored in raw format
No compression, the image data stored in raw format
Deflate
TIFF Deflate lossless compression (zip-in-TIFF)
TIFF Group 3 is the universal protocol for sending fax documents through a phone line. In this group each scan line is encoded independently.
Encoding name (in FM software)
Description
Fax Group 3 1D
CCITT Group 3 1D
A scan line is encoded as a set of runs, each representing a number of white or black pixels, with white and black runs alrenating. Every run is encoded using a different number of bits, which can be uniquely identified when decoded. Reoccurring lengths of runs will be encoded efficiently, while infrequent runs cause the size to grow.
A scan line is encoded as a set of runs, each representing a number of white or black pixels, with white and black runs alrenating. Every run is encoded using a different number of bits, which can be uniquely identified when decoded. Reoccurring lengths of runs will be encoded efficiently, while infrequent runs cause the size to grow.
Fax Group 3 2D
CCITT Group 3 2D
Similar like Group 3 1D, but more complex, and produces smaller file size.
Similar like Group 3 1D, but more complex, and produces smaller file size.
TIFF Group 4 is a protocol used for sending fax documents through an ISDN line. In this group scan lines are encoded with reference to the previous one, creating better compression ratios.
Encoding name (in FM software)
Description
Fax Group 4
CCITT Group 4 2D
This encoding is more than Group 3 encoding. Each scan line is compared to the scan line before it. High levels of compression can be used based on vertical attributes of the image.
This encoding is more than Group 3 encoding. Each scan line is compared to the scan line before it. High levels of compression can be used based on vertical attributes of the image.
TIFF image files can use LZW lossless compression. Lossless means there is no quality loss caused by compression of the image. LZW compression guarantees that you can always decode back exactly the smae data that you encoded, bit-for-bit without any data corruption. This is a critical factor for archiving master copies of important images.
TIFF LZW compression is most effective when compressing solid colors (graphics), and is less effective for 24 bit photo images. Featureless areas compress better than detailed areas.
Encoding name (in FM software)
Description
LZW
Lempel-Ziv-Welch compression method is the most commonly used compression method for web
graphics.
The two most common uses of the LZW compression is with GIF images and TIFF images. The LZW compression method usually compresses files into half of their original size.
ZLib
TIFF ZLib compression.
JPEG
TIFF JPEG compression images, when working with its intended type of image, compresses very efficiently.
The best known lossless compression methods can compress such data about 2:1 on average.
JPEG can typically achieve 10:1 to 20:1 compression without visible loss.
30:1 to 50:1 compression is possible with small defects. Gray-scale images do not
compress by such large factors, JPEG can compress hue data more heavily than
brightness (gray-scale) data. A gray-scale JPEG file is generally only about 10%-25%
smaller than a full-color JPEG file of similar visual quality.
The threshold of visible loss is often around 5:1 compression for gray-scale images.
Packbits
TIFF byte-oriented run-length encoding "PackBits" compression.
