What is TIFF format and why convert it to PDF?
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a lossless raster image format widely used in professional, medical, and archival contexts. Unlike JPEG, TIFF does not discard image data through lossy compression, making it ideal for preserving the highest quality version of an image. Converting TIFF to PDF is useful because PDF is universally readable on any device — many systems, email clients, and document workflows do not support TIFF natively but accept PDF without issue. Conversion also lets you combine multiple TIFF pages into a single ordered document.
Does TIFF to PDF conversion preserve the image quality?
PurePDF renders TIFF images to a canvas element at their native resolution and re-encodes them as JPEG within the PDF at your chosen quality setting. At the default 92% quality, the visual difference from the original is minimal for most images. For archival-quality output where every pixel matters, set the quality slider to 100%. Keep in mind that TIFF is lossless and the PDF output uses JPEG encoding internally, so there will be some encoding difference — the output will not be bit-identical to the source, but will be visually excellent at high quality settings.
Does TIFF to PDF work in all browsers?
TIFF rendering support varies across browsers. Safari on macOS and iOS natively supports TIFF decoding, which means conversion will work smoothly. Firefox also supports TIFF. Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers do not natively support TIFF in the canvas API, which means the preview and conversion may not function correctly in Chrome. If you are using Chrome, we recommend using Safari or Firefox for TIFF conversions, or consider converting your TIFF files to PNG first using a free image editor before uploading to PurePDF.
Can I convert multi-page TIFF files?
Standard TIFF files contain a single image. Multi-page TIFF (a TIFF container with multiple frames) is a less common variant used in document scanning workflows and fax systems. PurePDF processes each uploaded TIFF file as a single page — if you have a multi-page TIFF, the first frame will be used. To convert all pages of a multi-page TIFF, you would need to split it into individual single-frame TIFF files first using a dedicated image editor or conversion utility, then batch upload them to PurePDF.
Are my TIFF files uploaded to a server?
No. All conversion happens locally in your browser using the Canvas API. Your TIFF files never leave your device. This makes PurePDF safe for converting confidential medical scans, legal documents, archival photographs, and any sensitive material that should not be transmitted over the internet. You can verify this by monitoring your browser's network traffic during conversion — you will see no file upload requests.
What page size should I choose for TIFF to PDF conversion?
If your TIFF is a scanned document (A4, Letter, Legal, etc.), choose the matching page size to get a clean margin-free result. If your TIFF is a photograph or custom-dimension image, choose "Original" to have the PDF page sized exactly to match your image dimensions without scaling or cropping. A4 and Letter modes scale the image proportionally to fit within the page margins, which may add white space if the image aspect ratio does not match the page.
What is the maximum TIFF file size supported?
There is no server-side file size limit since all processing happens in your browser. The practical limit depends on your device's available memory. TIFF files are typically large — a single A3 page scanned at 600 DPI can be 50–150 MB. Most modern desktop browsers can handle files up to 100–200 MB, though very large files may slow down the conversion or cause memory warnings on older devices. If you encounter issues, try reducing the TIFF resolution before uploading.
Can I convert TIFF images in batch?
Yes. You can drop multiple TIFF files at once and they will all be converted into a single multi-page PDF, with each file becoming one page. The order of pages matches the order of the thumbnails in the upload grid, which you can rearrange by dragging. There is no enforced limit on batch size, though very large batches with high-resolution TIFF files may require more time and browser memory.
Is TIFF to PDF conversion free?
Yes, completely free. There are no limits on how many TIFF files you can convert, no signup required, no watermarks added to the output, and no premium tier needed to access any feature. PurePDF is free for everyone.
What other formats can I convert to PDF besides TIFF?
PurePDF supports JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, and HEIC image formats in addition to TIFF. You can even mix different image formats in a single batch — drop a TIFF alongside some JPGs and a PNG, and they will all become pages in one PDF document. Each format is decoded using the browser's native image support and rendered through the same canvas-based PDF pipeline.