How to Convert TIFF Files to PDF, JPG, or PNG

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is widely used for high-quality scans, professional photography, and archival imaging. It’s lossless, supports multiple pages, and stores extensive metadata. The downside: it’s awkward to share, doesn’t display in many web browsers, and produces huge files.

For sharing TIFF content widely, conversion is usually the answer.

Why TIFF exists

TIFF was developed in 1986 by Aldus (later Adobe). It’s been the standard for:

Scanner output: many scanners save TIFFs as their highest-quality option
Photo editing: layered TIFFs preserve editing layers similarly to PSD
Archival: lossless quality and metadata make it ideal for long-term preservation
Print pipelines: commercial print prep often uses TIFF for image files
Medical imaging: DICOM and similar imaging standards use TIFF-derived formats

For these professional uses, TIFF still excels. For “send this image to a friend,” it’s overkill.

Converting TIFF to JPG (most common)

For sharing or web use:

Option 1: phone or computer’s built-in conversion

On Windows:

Right-click TIFF → Open with → Paint (or Photos)
File → Save As → choose JPG
Adjust quality if prompted

On Mac:

Open TIFF in Preview
File → Export → choose JPG format
Adjust quality slider

On Phone: open the TIFF in any photo app and export as JPG (most apps handle this automatically when you share).

Option 2: command-line (for bulk)

For folders of TIFFs (common with scans):

# ImageMagick (free)
mogrify -format jpg *.tif

This converts all .tif files in the folder to .jpg. Original files unchanged.

Option 3: browser-based

For one TIFF or a few:

We don’t have a dedicated TIFF converter currently, but the browser-based approach works through:

Some browsers display TIFF directly (Firefox supports it; Chrome and Safari don’t always)
Right-click on the displayed image → Save image as → choose JPG (if the browser offers conversion)

For reliable conversion, the built-in OS tools above are usually faster than browser workarounds.

Converting TIFF to PNG

When you need lossless or transparency:

Photoshop / Photopea: open TIFF → Save As / Export As → PNG
Preview (Mac): File → Export → PNG
Command-line: mogrify -format png *.tif

PNG preserves quality losslessly but file sizes can be similar to TIFF (both lossless). The advantage: PNG is universally readable.

Converting TIFF to PDF

TIFFs containing scanned documents are often best as PDFs:

Open the TIFFs in any photo app
Print → Save as PDF (built into every OS)

Or for our browser-based approach:

First convert TIFFs to JPGs (or PNGs) using the methods above
Then use JPG to PDF to combine into a multi-page PDF

If your TIFF is already a multi-page file, the conversion typically becomes a multi-page PDF automatically.

Multi-page TIFFs

TIFF can hold multiple images in one file (similar to PDF). Common for:

Scanned multi-page documents
Fax archives
Some imaging systems

When converting:

To JPG: each page becomes a separate JPG file
To PNG: each page becomes a separate PNG
To PDF: pages preserved in a single multi-page PDF (the cleanest conversion)

For multi-page TIFFs, the PDF path preserves the structure best.

File size expectations

TIFF files are typically large:

A typical scanned letter-size page at 300 DPI: 5-15 MB as TIFF
The same as JPG quality 85: 200-500 KB
The same as PNG: 1-3 MB

Converting to JPG saves dramatically. Use JPG for casual sharing, PNG for lossless needs.

What gets preserved

Quality preservation depends on target format:

TIFF → JPG: lossless → lossy. Quality is reduced (per JPG’s compression settings).

TIFF → PNG: lossless → lossless. No quality change; just format conversion.

TIFF → PDF: depends on the PDF settings. Usually similar to JPG conversion for embedded images.

Metadata (creation date, scanner info, color profiles): often preserved across conversions; may need explicit settings to ensure.

Special cases

16-bit TIFF: high-bit-depth scans (16 bits per channel instead of standard 8). Converting to JPG drops to 8-bit. For pure preservation, keep as TIFF.

TIFF with embedded ICC profile (specific color space): converting may strip the profile. Verify if color matching matters.

Compressed TIFF (LZW, ZIP, etc.): these were already compressed at the TIFF level. Converting to JPG further compresses (lossy).

TIFF/EP (Electronic Photography standard, used by some cameras): can convert with most tools; sometimes treated specially.

Archive considerations

If you’re archiving important documents:

Keep TIFFs when:

Long-term preservation matters
Quality cannot degrade across copies
The documents are legal records, photos of historical importance, etc.

Convert to compressed format (JPG, WebP) when:

Storage costs matter
Quality preservation isn’t critical
The originals exist elsewhere as backup

For most personal archives, JPG at quality 90 takes a fraction of the TIFF size with quality that’s “good enough” for most purposes.

TIFF on phones

Phones don’t natively show TIFF thumbnails in their photo galleries. To view a TIFF on a phone:

iPhone: open via Files app, or via a third-party photo viewer
Android: Google Drive can render TIFFs; Photos may or may not

For routine viewing, convert to JPG/PNG before getting to the phone.

TL;DR

TIFF → JPG for sharing and web: smallest, most compatible
TIFF → PNG for lossless conversion with transparency
TIFF → PDF for multi-page document workflows
OS built-in tools (Windows Paint, Mac Preview) handle conversion easily
Bulk conversion: ImageMagick command-line
Browser-based: convert via image apps, then use our JPG to PDF to combine into PDFs
TIFF preserves quality but produces huge files — keep TIFFs only when you need lossless archival