Flexible Options
TIFF is a flexible, adaptable file format for handling images and data within a single file, by including the header tags (size, definition, image-data arrangement, applied image compression) defining the image's geometry. For example, a TIFF file can be a container holding compressed (lossy) JPEG and (lossless) PackBits compressed images. A TIFF file also can include a vector-based clipping path (outlines, croppings, image frames). The ability to store image data in a lossless format makes a TIFF file a useful image archive, because, unlike standard JPEG files, a TIFF file using lossless compression (or none) may be edited and re-saved without losing image quality. This is not the case when using the TIFF as a container holding compressed JPEG. Other TIFF options are layers and pages.
TIFF offers the option of using LZW compression, a lossless data-compression technique for reducing a file's size. Until 2004, use of this option was limited because the LZW technique was under several patents. However, these patents have expired.
The TIFF 6.0 specification consists of the following parts:
- Introduction (contains information about TIFF Administration, usage of Private fields and values, etc.)
- Part 1: Baseline TIFF
- Part 2: TIFF Extensions
- Part 3: Appendices
Read more about this topic: Tagged Image File Format
Famous quotes containing the word flexible:
“It is safest to be moderately base—to be flexible in shame, and to be always ready for what is generous, good and just, when anything is to be gained by virtue.”
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845)