Convert TIFF to JPG

TIFF: great for archives, awkward for sharing

TIFF has been the format of choice for scanners, print shops and photo archives since the late 1980s. It can store high bit depth color, CMYK for printing, several pages in one file and lossless compression, which is exactly what professionals want. It also produces very large files, and most web browsers cannot display it.

That makes TIFF awkward whenever you need to email a scan, attach it to a form or put it on a website. JPG is the natural companion: small, universally supported and good enough for viewing and sharing. This page decodes the TIFF with a bundled decoder, so it works even in browsers that have no TIFF support of their own.

TIFF vs JPG at a glance

How to convert TIFF to JPG

1. 1

   Step 1: Choose the TIFF

   Drop a .tif or .tiff file from your scanner, camera or archive.

2. 2

   Step 2: Keep JPG as output

   JPG is selected. Choose PNG instead if you need a lossless copy.

3. 3

   Step 3: Convert

   The first image in the TIFF is decoded, converted to RGB and saved as a JPEG at quality 92.

4. 4

   Step 4: Download the JPG

   Share or upload the much smaller file.

Supported TIFF files

Typical TIFF to JPG jobs

• Sharing document scans. Scanners often default to TIFF; JPG is far easier to email.

• Publishing archive photos. Museums, libraries and family archives keep TIFF masters and publish JPG copies.

• Uploading to online forms. Most forms accept JPG, few accept TIFF.

• Previewing print files. Get a quick, lightweight look at a print-ready image.

Limits worth knowing

TIFFs that use JPEG compression internally are not supported by the bundled decoder. Safari can usually open those itself, so try Safari if you see an error about JPEG compression. Very rare variants, such as BigTIFF files over 4 GB, are not supported.

Multi-page TIFFs, like faxes or multi-page scans, are converted using the first page only. For documents with many pages, a PDF is usually the better container.

Color, bit depth and quality

Professional TIFFs often use 16 bits per channel or CMYK color. JPG stores 8 bit RGB, so the converter scales 16 bit values down and converts CMYK to RGB with a standard formula. For viewing and sharing that is ideal; for print production, keep working from the TIFF.

Any alpha channel is flattened onto white. If the TIFF has transparency you need, choose PNG as the target instead.

• Keep TIFF masters for editing and printing.
• Share JPG copies for viewing and email.
• Use PNG when you need lossless or transparent copies.

Tips for TIFF files

• Large archival scans can be hundreds of megabytes; conversion needs enough free memory on your device.
• If colors look off after converting a CMYK TIFF, export an RGB version from your editing software for the most accurate result.
• For many TIFF files, try the bulk image converter, which reads TIFF the same way.
• Name exported files clearly, since the JPG keeps the TIFF's file name.

TIFF to JPG questions