Convert PDF to TIFF Online – Complete Guide

The first time I had to convert a file to TIFF format, I had to Google what it even was before responding to the request. The print vendor for healthcare compliance documentation needed a page from the PDF converted to high-resolution TIFF and embedded in a printed reference binder.

I had the PDF of the page they needed, I had the page itself, and I had no idea that there was any difference between TIFF and the image formats I used daily.

After my brief education on TIFF, I converted the needed page to the requested format and sent the converted file to the vendor. They were happy with the result, and I was surprised by how common TIFF requests were in the following months in the industries of legal, medical, publishing, and print service.

If you had a similar experience and still have questions about what TIFF is, when it is necessary to use it and how to convert PDF to TIFF, this guide is for you.

What TIFF Is, Why Some Industries Need It, and How It Differs From Similar Formats

TIFF, or Tagged Image File Format, is a type of image file that has been in use since the 1980s. One of the reasons TIFF has survived while many other formats have not is its use in professional environments.

TIFFs’ lossless compression allows for the quality of the image to be maintained after conversion,

it supports other properties like high bit depth,

and

it has been widely adopted by many industries that deal with document management, document imaging, and print production.

TIFF is often necessary for high-quality scans because of its ability to support extremely high DPI or dots per inch.

Some typical applications where TIFF image format is used are:

Court, legal, and compliance documentation management

Healthcare recordkeeping and medical imaging

High-end commercial printing

Government document archival

In short, TIFF is the archival-grade image format that many document management systems use instead of other formats such as JPG or PNG. Understanding the differences between formats helps you choose which one to convert your PDF to for the best results.

How I Convert PDFs to TIFFs

Before discovering online tools to do it, my method of converting PDF to TIFF was unnecessarily complicated. I would export the image from the PDF to PNG, open it up in an image editor, and save it as TIFF.

However, there is an easier way to do batch PDF to TIFF conversions.

Using a browser-based PDF to TIFF converter, you upload your PDF, select the page you need to convert as TIFF, and download the converted file(s).

The tool at ConvertersOnline.com converts PDF pages directly to TIFF without any additional software.

The most important thing that a tool for converting PDF to TIFF should do is faithfully reproduce the original PDF image in TIFF. After all, the reason to use TIFF is to maintain image quality. Tools for converting PDF to TIFF should avoid using lossy compression to keep the file size small.

Who Actually Needs to Convert PDFs to TIFFs?

Someone asking for a TIFF usually has a specific reason for needing it, and it is most often because a particular application they are using requires it. In short, TIFF is required by particular industries and systems for particular purposes.

These industries include:

Court and legal documentation management: Many court systems and legal documentation management systems require TIFF for submission and archival. TIFF’s ability to maintain image quality is crucial when storing important documents that need to be retrieved later.

Healthcare recordkeeping: Healthcare information management systems also require TIFF for storing non-image-based documents. It is a necessity for systems that use older software designed to use TIFFs.

Printing: Many print shops require TIFFs for print, specifically at 300 DPI. The reason for this specification is that DPI (dots per inch) determines how big the image can be printed without losing quality, which is essential to large-scale commercial printing. JPG is not suitable for printing, and while PNG can be printed, it is not as widely supported as TIFF.

Government document archival: Some government agencies require TIFFs as the archival standard.

Document scanning: Many document scanning systems use TIFFs, both because they can handle multi-page documents and because they preserve the quality of the scanned images.

While most of these reasons apply to particular software that requires TIFF, the presence of any of them is why a TIFF might be necessary. If someone is asking you for a TIFF, there is likely a specific reason they need it.

Common Mistakes When Converting PDFs to TIFFs

Some common mistakes are specific to TIFF conversion, and some are mistakes that apply to converting PDF to any image format.

Those that apply specifically to TIFFs are

converting to TIFF when another type of image file is required,

not setting TIFFs DPI for print,

and

accidentally sending a multi-page TIFF when only single-page TIFFs are needed.

The reason for avoiding the first mistake is that TIFF is a specific format that is required for specific reasons. When someone asks you for a TIFF, they likely need it for one of those specific reasons, and converting to another image format defeats the purpose of converting it to TIFF in the first place. If you are converting to an image format on your own, PNG or JPG are much more versatile options that can be used on more occasions than TIFFs.

One thing to be especially mindful of when converting to TIFF is the DPI (dots per inch). This detail is especially important if you are converting the TIFF for printing purposes. DPI determines how big the image can be printed without losing quality. It is easy to overlook DPI when converting from PDF to TIFF, but a file with too low DPI will print poorly. For most standard printing purposes, a DPI of 300 is a safe choice. Some applications allow you to change the DPI of a TIFF before you convert it. This feature should be used for any TIFF that will not be printed or viewed as a high-resolution image on a screen.

The last common mistake is accidentally sending a multi-page TIFF where only single-page TIFFs are needed. TIFFs support storing multiple images in a single file, but not all applications that view or process TIFFs can handle multi-page TIFFs. If you need to send TIFFs to an application and you are unsure if it handles multi-page TIFFs, it is better to be safe than sorry and send each page as a separate single-page TIFF.

Another thing to consider when converting a PDF to a TIFF is the file size.

TIFFs are large files; a TIFF of a PDF page converted at a high DPI can be 20-50MB or more. If you are converting a multi-page PDF to a TIFF, be sure that the recipient of the file will be able to handle a file that large. If the PDF has to be converted to a TIFF, but it is unwieldy, use a Compress PDF tool to reduce the file size before you convert it.

Is Converting Sensitive Documents to TIFF Online Safe?

TIFFs are often necessary for sensitive documents such as legal, healthcare, and regulatory ones. So, a question about the safety of converting sensitive documents to TIFF online is entirely reasonable.

When choosing a tool to convert a sensitive document to TIFF, it is important to choose one that you know to be safe. The most important markers of a secure online document conversion tool are in-browser processing or secure server-side processing (the files are deleted from the server after conversion), no account requirement, and a privacy policy that covers both the PDF and TIFF files.

If you have concerns about the security of a TIFF conversion tool, checking the privacy policy to see what they say about PDF and TIFF files is always a good idea. Most reputable TIFF conversion tools are upfront about their privacy practices precisely because they understand how sensitive many of their users’ documents are.

A Few Things I’ve Learned After Converting Many PDFs to TIFFs

After delivering TIFFs to several different industries, there are a few things that I learned to always do when converting a PDF to a TIFF to save myself and others headaches.

First off, I always ask the recipient if they need single-page TIFFs or a multi-page TIFF.

It is important to get this right because some software cannot process multi-page TIFFs, which means that all the work it took to convert it would have been for nothing if it is accidentally sent to that software.

Next, when asked for a TIFF for print, I always ask which DPI they need, not assume it is 300. 150 DPI is standard for large-format printing, and higher DPIs are sometimes used for document archival. It is always better to ask than to guess, and the recipient will always be grateful not to have received a TIFF that they could not use.

If asked for a TIFF file that is only a specific set of pages from a PDF, I isolate those pages first using a Split PDF tool. This step prevents converting an entire PDF into a TIFF just to send most of it back to the sender. The other thing to keep in mind is that TIFF files cannot be previewed in a browser like JPG or PNG files can and should be opened in an image viewer. If you want to check the converted TIFF file before you send it, it is a good idea to open it in an image editing program or image viewer to avoid being caught unaware that the image will not display correctly after you send it.

Something I always did when first sending TIFFs to a client or software that I did not already know could open TIFFs was to send them a sample page to make sure that they would be able to display it before I sent them the entire TIFF or TIFFs.

Converting PDF to TIFFs – FAQs

What is TIFF and why is it different from JPG or PNG?

TIFF is a professional image format that utilizes lossless compression and supports high bit depth, multiple pages, and extremely high resolution. In contrast to JPG, TIFF does not sacrifice image quality for smaller file sizes and can support multi-page documents. In comparison to PNG, TIFF is more widely supported by professional print and document management systems.

Does converting a PDF document to TIFF preserve all of its quality?

Yes, because when converted to TIFF, the document retains all of its visual information and details in high resolution.

Do I need to use a separate software to convert a PDF to TIFF?

No, there are browser-based tools that facilitate the task of converting PDF to TIFF.

What DPI is appropriate for converting a PDF to TIFF for print?

300 DPI is considered standard for print, but sometimes large-format printers can utilize 150 DPI, and other archival practices may require higher resolution TIFFs. When in doubt, ask the recipient which DPI they need.

Can I convert a multipage PDF to a TIFF?

There are some PDF to TIFF converters that can batch-process PDFs and create TIFFs out of them. Some only produce one TIFF per page of the PDF. It is important to ask recipient of the TIFF if multi-page TIFFs are acceptable.

Can I convert a password-protected PDF to a TIFF?

A password-protected PDF has to be unlocked before it can be converted to a TIFF.

Why are TIFFs so large?

TIFFs tend to be large because they utilize lossless compression, which sacrifices file size for visual quality. Another reason TIFFs can be large is because they often need to be converted to a higher DPI for print.

Final Thoughts

TIFF is not typically the go-to image format for most people who need to share and utilize images, and for good reason. JPG and PNG typically provide enough quality for whatever purpose the image is needed for, and can be utilized in a greater variety of applications and websites. However, when a specific industry or a specific application does require TIFF, having the ability to produce one from a PDF cleanly and efficiently can be crucial. Converting a PDF to TIFF is a very useful skill for anyone who has to produce print materials, compliance documentation, or any other professional or specialized document that requires archival-grade image format.

Internal Links Used:

1. PDF to PNG tool → https://convertersonline.com/tool/pdf-to-png
2. PDF to JPG tool → https://convertersonline.com/tool/pdf-to-jpg
3. PDF to TIFF tool → https://convertersonline.com/tool/pdf-to-tiff
4. Compress PDF tool → https://convertersonline.com/tool/compress-pdf
5. Split PDF tool → https://convertersonline.com/tool/split-pdf