TIFF PYR

Action Plan: Tagged Image File Format - Pyramid Tiffs

Last Updated 2/6/2014

Description: Tagged Image File Format, or Tiff files, are some of the most common Raster Image Formats in use. Created by the Aldus Corperation which was later aquired by Adobe, Tiff's technical specifications have been released by Adobe. It was last updated in 1992, its current version is 6.0.

Codec:  Pyramid Tiffs wrap a sequence of bitmaps which each represent the same image at different resolutions. It is a way to combine multiple versions of the same image into one file. This is often done to fascillitate zooming.

Software:  Pyramid tiff files can be accessed with Adobe Photoshop or Image Magick .

Long Term Preservation Plan:  Uncompressed Tiff is the prefered format for master image files at the LC. It is far and away the most popular file type present in LC's CTS system. It is heavily supported, open source, and maintains a good image quality. There is no reason at present to consider migration to other formats.

Division Specific Notes:  The Library does not use or have any plans to use pyramid tiffs.