Your office scanner saved a contract as a .tif file, the fax server delivered an incoming document as TIFF, or an archive sent you a digitized record in the same format. On your phone, only the first page shows up. The upload form on a government or bank portal accepts PDF only. And the colleague you forwarded it to says the file is huge and will not open. TIFF is great for storing scans, but it is a poor format for sharing them.
The fix is to convert TIFF to PDF. Upload your files to our TIFF to PDF converter and in about a minute you get a single PDF in which every page of a multi-page TIFF becomes its own PDF page. It is free, requires no sign-up and adds no watermarks. This guide explains what TIFF is, why converting it makes sense, how to do it online and with desktop software, and what is and is not preserved.
Quick answer: how to convert TIFF to PDF online
- Open the TIFF to PDF page.
- Add up to 20 TIFF or TIF files, up to 100 MB in total.
- Drag the files into the order you want.
- Click Convert to PDF and download the result.
What Is a TIFF File?
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a raster image format created by Aldus in 1986 for scanners and desktop publishing; the specification later passed to Adobe. The .tif and .tiff extensions mean exactly the same thing. TIFF is extremely flexible: it can hold several pages in one file, supports many compression methods (none, LZW, ZIP, PackBits, JPEG, and CCITT Group 3 and Group 4 for black-and-white documents and faxes), bit depths from 1-bit monochrome up to 16 bits per channel, and RGB, CMYK and grayscale color.
Where TIFF files come from
- Scanners and multifunction printers, especially when scanning to a network folder or e-mail.
- Fax servers and internet fax services, which store incoming faxes as multi-page TIFFs.
- Archives and document management systems, because TIFF supports lossless compression.
- Print shops and designers, for print-ready photos and layouts.
- Photography, science and mapping, including high bit-depth images and GeoTIFF.
Why Convert TIFF to PDF?
- It opens everywhere. Any browser and phone can display a PDF. Many viewers, mail apps and mobile galleries show only the first page of a multi-page TIFF, so the recipient may never see the rest.
- Portals require it. Government services, banks, universities and employers typically accept scanned documents as PDF only.
- One file instead of many. If your scanner saved each page separately, you can combine them into one document in the right order.
- Smaller size. Uncompressed or color TIFF scans are heavy; images inside a PDF are stored compressed.
- Easier follow-up work. PDFs can be merged, compressed, password-protected and reorganized.
TIFF vs PDF at a Glance
| Feature | TIFF | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Raster image | Document with text, vectors and images |
| Multiple pages | Yes, but many apps show only page one | Yes, supported everywhere |
| Opens in a browser | Usually not | Yes |
| Opens on phones | Often partially or not at all | Yes, natively |
| File size | Often very large | Usually smaller |
| Accepted by portals | Rarely | Almost always |
| Password protection | No | Yes |
Keep the TIFF as your archival master copy if you need it, and use the PDF for sharing, printing and uploading.
How to Convert TIFF to PDF Online: Step by Step
- Open the tool. Go to the TIFF to PDF page. It works in any browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
- Upload your files. Drag TIFF or TIF files into the upload area or click to browse. You can add up to 20 files, 100 MB in total. Single-page and multi-page TIFFs are both fine.
- Set the order. Drag files in the list to rearrange them. The PDF follows this order, and pages inside each multi-page TIFF keep their original sequence.
- Convert. Click Convert to PDF. Files are queued and processed on our server in the background; the status updates on its own.
- Download and check. When the job finishes, download the PDF and scroll through it to confirm the page count, order and orientation.
Conversion runs on the LibreOffice engine. All uploaded files always end up in one combined PDF; if you need a separate PDF per TIFF, upload them one at a time.
What Is Preserved and What Is Not
Preserved
- Every page of a multi-page TIFF, as a separate PDF page.
- The file order you set and the original page order inside each file.
- The visual content: text, stamps, signatures and drawings look as they do in the scan.
- Color mode: black-and-white scans stay black-and-white.
Not preserved or changed
- No OCR. Pages become images; you cannot select or search the text.
- Layers and metadata. Layered TIFFs from Photoshop come through as the final flattened image. EXIF, GeoTIFF georeferencing and similar metadata are not carried over, or only partially — keep the original TIFF for archival purposes.
- No quality settings. There is no DPI or compression choice in the interface; parameters are chosen automatically.
- Not a bit-for-bit copy. Images are stored in the PDF in its own compressed form. They look the same, but the PDF is a document for viewing and printing, not an exact pixel archive.
Other Ways to Convert TIFF to PDF
Windows: Microsoft Print to PDF
Select one or more TIFFs in File Explorer, right-click and choose Print. In the Print Pictures dialog, pick Microsoft Print to PDF, choose a full-page layout and click Print, then name the file. The image is fitted to the paper size and may get margins, and not every Windows viewer handles all pages of a multi-page TIFF — check the page count afterwards.
macOS: Preview
Open the TIFF in Preview; the pages of a multi-page file appear in the thumbnail sidebar. Use File, Export as PDF, or File, Print and then PDF, Save as PDF. To combine several files, open them together in Preview, select all thumbnails and print to PDF.
LibreOffice Draw
Open the TIFF in LibreOffice Draw and use File, Export as PDF. The export dialog lets you control image compression and resolution. Our service uses the same engine, just without installation or manual settings.
GIMP
When opening a multi-page TIFF, GIMP asks whether to load pages as images or as layers. Choose layers, then export with File, Export As and a .pdf extension, enabling the Layers as pages option. It works, but it is overkill for simply turning a scan into a PDF.
Adobe Acrobat Pro and ImageMagick
Acrobat Pro creates PDFs from TIFF images and can also run OCR on scans, but it is a paid subscription. If you are comfortable with the command line, the free ImageMagick tool converts a multi-page TIFF with magick scan.tif scan.pdf.
Comparison of methods
| Method | Install needed | Multi-page TIFF | Merge files | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| my-pdf.ru | No, browser | Yes, all pages | Yes, up to 20 files in your order | Free |
| Microsoft Print to PDF | No, built in | Depends on the viewer | Yes, via Print Pictures | Free |
| macOS Preview | No, built in | Yes | Yes, via Print | Free |
| GIMP | Yes | Yes, as layers | Manual | Free |
| Adobe Acrobat Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid |
Tips and Common Mistakes
- Check whether the TIFF is really multi-page. A viewer showing one page does not mean there is only one. Convert it and count the PDF pages.
- Watch the file order. Renamed or forwarded scans easily get shuffled. If the order is wrong in the finished PDF, fix it with Organize PDF instead of converting again.
- Fix sideways pages with Rotate PDF.
- Squashed-looking faxes. Standard-resolution faxes use different horizontal and vertical resolutions. If the page also looks squashed in your original viewer, the issue is in the file itself.
- Over 100 MB? Convert in batches, then merge the PDFs.
- PDF still too large for a portal? Compress the PDF, or convert color scans of text documents to grayscale.
- Blank back pages from a duplex scanner can be removed with Delete Pages.
- Need an archival format? Convert the PDF to PDF/A.
The Reverse: PDF to TIFF
Some fax servers, print shops and document systems accept TIFF only. For that, use the companion tool PDF to TIFF, which turns PDF pages into TIFF images. For web or messenger use, PDF to PNG or PDF to JPG is usually more practical. Scans in other formats can go through JPG to PDF, PNG to PDF or BMP to PDF.
Security and Privacy
- No registration and no e-mail required.
- Files are used only for conversion and are never published.
- Uploaded and converted files are deleted automatically within 48 hours.
- The result is available only through the link you receive.
If you plan to e-mail the PDF or keep it in a shared folder, add a password with Protect PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert TIFF to PDF for free?
Upload your files to the TIFF to PDF converter, click Convert to PDF and download the result. No sign-up, no watermarks.
Will all pages of a multi-page TIFF be kept?
Yes. Each TIFF page becomes a separate PDF page in its original order.
Can I combine several TIFF files into one PDF?
Yes, up to 20 files and 100 MB per run, in the order you set by dragging. For more files, convert in batches and merge the PDFs.
What is the difference between TIF and TIFF?
None — they are two extensions for the same format, and both are accepted.
Will the text in the PDF be searchable?
No, the converter does not perform OCR, so pages are images. To extract text from a scan, open the PDF in our PDF Reader, which has text recognition in beta.
Can I choose quality or page size?
No, there are no such settings; parameters are chosen automatically. Compress the finished PDF if you need it smaller.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Open the site in your mobile browser, pick the TIFF files and download the PDF — handy when a fax or scan arrives by e-mail.
Conclusion
TIFF remains a solid format for storing scans and faxes, but PDF is far better for sharing, printing and uploading. Converting takes a minute and no software: multi-page files keep every page, and separate scans are combined in the order you choose. Just remember that text is not recognized and TIFF metadata is not carried over, so keep the originals if you need them. Try it now with the TIFF to PDF converter.