TIFF may look like a format from another era, yet accountants, archivists, lawyers, and print shops still run into it every week. A document management system accepts attachments only as TIFF, a legacy module cannot read PDF, an online fax service wants TIFF, or a printer asks for a raster file without lossy compression. The task is always the same: turn a PDF into a TIFF — ideally one file, not a pile of images.
The short answer: upload your document to our online PDF to TIFF converter and you get one multi-page TIFF containing every PDF page in the original order — 24-bit color, 200 dpi, lossless LZW compression. Free, no registration, no watermarks. Below we cover the format, settings, alternatives, and pitfalls.
Quick answer: PDF to TIFF in 3 steps
- Open PDF to TIFF and upload one PDF up to 100 MB.
- Click Convert to TIFF — the file is processed on our server in the background.
- Download the multi-page TIFF from the link. All pages are in one file.
What TIFF is and why it is still used
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) was created by Aldus in the mid-1980s for exchanging scanned images between software and devices; Adobe later took over the format. A TIFF file is a set of "tags" describing dimensions, color, compression, and resolution, which makes it a flexible container for professional raster images. Its key traits:
- Multiple pages. One file can hold any number of page images — which is why scanners, fax machines, and archives love it.
- Lossless compression. LZW, ZIP, PackBits, and CCITT Group 4 for black-and-white documents, or no compression at all.
- Color precision. 8 or 16 bits per channel, RGB, CMYK, grayscale.
- Stability. The TIFF 6.0 specification has not changed since 1992, so a file made today will open decades from now.
TIFF vs PDF and other formats
PDF is a document; TIFF is an image. PDF keeps text as text and vectors as vectors. TIFF stores only pixels, so converting PDF to TIFF rasterizes each page at a fixed resolution.
| Feature | TIFF | PNG | JPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content | Text, vector, raster | Raster only | Raster only | Raster only |
| Multiple pages | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Compression | Varies | Lossless or none | Lossless | Lossy |
| Searchable text | Yes (if not a scan) | No | No | No |
| Size for a text document | Small | Large | Medium | Medium |
| Opens in a browser | Yes | Usually not | Yes | Yes |
If you need an archival document with searchable text, consider PDF to PDF/A. For individual page images, use PDF to PNG.
When you actually need TIFF
- Document management systems. Some corporate and government DMS historically accept scans only as TIFF. Check the requirements of your specific system — many modern ones accept PDF too.
- Archives. A multi-page TIFF without lossy compression is the classic format for digitized records.
- Fax. Online fax services and fax servers have traditionally worked with TIFF, usually black-and-white.
- Print shops and prepress. Some printers accept raster artwork as TIFF because it never loses quality on save.
- Legacy software. Older accounting, medical, and engineering programs can often attach only TIFF files to records.
Step-by-step: converting PDF to multi-page TIFF online
- Check the source. The PDF must open without a password and be under 100 MB. If you only need a few pages, extract them first — the TIFF will be much smaller.
- Open the converter. Go to PDF to TIFF. No sign-up or installation; it works on phones too.
- Upload the PDF. Drag it onto the upload area or click to choose it. One PDF per task.
- Start the conversion. Click Convert to TIFF. The task is queued on the server; large documents take longer, so keep the tab open until the link appears.
- Download and check. You get one .tiff file. Open it in a viewer that supports multi-page TIFF and confirm the page count.
Resolution, color, and file size
What dpi means
Dpi (dots per inch) is how many pixels are used per inch of the page when rasterizing. 72–96 dpi is screen resolution; 150 dpi is comfortable on screen; 200 dpi is the usual standard for documents; 300 dpi and above is for print. Our converter uses a fixed 200 dpi, which cannot be changed in the interface. An A4 page at 200 dpi is about 1654 × 2339 pixels.
24-bit color and LZW
Output is full 24-bit RGB, so colored stamps, blue-ink signatures, and highlights survive. LZW is lossless: the decompressed image matches the original pixel for pixel, and it works especially well on white backgrounds and tables.
Expected file size
An uncompressed color A4 page at 200 dpi is about 11 MB. LZW typically shrinks a text page to roughly 1–3 MB, while photo-heavy pages can stay at 5–10 MB. A 20-page document can easily become a TIFF of several dozen megabytes. If size matters, convert the PDF to grayscale first, or split it.
Alternative ways to convert PDF to TIFF
Adobe Acrobat Pro
Export PDF → Image → TIFF lets you choose resolution and compression. Note that Acrobat saves one TIFF per page by default. Pros: flexible settings. Cons: paid subscription.
GIMP
Imports PDF pages as layers at a chosen resolution and can export layers as TIFF pages. Pros: free, full control. Cons: slow for long documents.
IrfanView and XnView
Lightweight viewers that open PDF through a Ghostscript plugin and save multi-page TIFF, including batch conversion. Pros: fast and free for personal use. Cons: plugins and Ghostscript must be installed.
Ghostscript and ImageMagick
For automation, Ghostscript (the engine our service uses) is the best choice:
gs -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sDEVICE=tiff24nc -r200 -sCompression=lzw -sOutputFile=document.tiff document.pdf
Or with ImageMagick:
magick -density 200 document.pdf -compress lzw document.tiff
Pros: full control and easy scripting. Cons: requires installation and command-line skills; ImageMagick may need its security policy adjusted to read PDF.
Common problems and fixes
Password-protected PDF
Encrypted files cannot be opened. If you know the password and have the right to use the document, run Unlock PDF first.
Damaged file
Try Repair PDF and convert the fixed version.
PDF over 100 MB or TIFF too large
Compress the PDF to fit the upload limit. TIFF size depends mainly on page count and content, so if the output is too big for the target system, split the PDF and convert parts separately.
Blurry text
Normal 10–12 pt text is sharp at 200 dpi, but tiny footnotes or fine drawings may lack detail. If the source is a low-quality scan, rasterizing will not make it sharper. For higher resolution, use Ghostscript with -r300.
Colors look different
Print-ready PDFs may use CMYK while TIFF is saved in RGB, so saturated blues and greens may shift slightly.
Only the first page is shown
That is a viewer limitation. Open the file in IrfanView, XnView, GIMP, Windows Photos, or macOS Preview.
How to open a multi-page TIFF
- Windows: the Photos app, IrfanView, XnView MP.
- macOS: Preview shows all pages in the sidebar.
- Linux: GIMP, XnView MP, and most document viewers.
- Professional tools: Adobe Photoshop, document management and archive systems.
Security and privacy
TIFF conversion often involves contracts and official records. No registration is required, files are processed on our server in a background queue, you download the result by link, and both the PDF and the TIFF are automatically deleted within 48 hours. Nothing is published or shared.
FAQ
Is PDF to TIFF conversion free?
Yes — free, no registration, no watermarks.
One multi-page TIFF or one file per page?
One multi-page TIFF with all pages in the original order.
Can I choose resolution or black-and-white output?
No, settings are fixed: 200 dpi, 24-bit color, LZW. Convert the PDF to grayscale beforehand for a smaller monochrome result.
Is text searchable in the TIFF?
No, TIFF is raster-only. Keep the PDF or use PDF/A if you need search.
Can I turn the TIFF back into a PDF?
Yes, but it will be an image-only PDF. For text recognition, try our PDF reader with OCR (beta).
Is there a page limit?
No fixed page limit; the upload limit is 100 MB.
Conclusion
TIFF remains the workhorse wherever predictability and lossless quality matter: archives, document management, fax, and print. Skip the Acrobat subscription and command line — upload your file to our PDF to TIFF converter and get one multi-page file with every page, free and without registration.