PDF vs TIFF: When to Use Which
PDF and TIFF are both used for document scanning, archiving, and high-quality imaging, but they serve different workflows. TIFF is a pure image format prized in printing and medical imaging, while PDF is a document format that can contain text, images, and metadata. Here's when each makes sense.
Understand the key differences between these formats and when to use each one.
PDF vs TIFF: When to Use Which — Feature Comparison
| Feature | SublimePDF | TIFF |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Document format (text + images + metadata) | Image format (raster graphics) |
| Multi-page support | Native — designed for multi-page documents | Supported but less convenient |
| Text searchability | Yes (with text layer or OCR) | No — purely image-based |
| Image quality | Good (depends on compression) | Excellent — lossless, up to 16-bit per channel |
| File size (scanned pages) | Smaller with compression | Large — lossless preservation |
| Print / prepress | Good for document printing | Industry standard for prepress and imaging |
| Medical imaging | Rarely used | Widely used (DICOM often wraps TIFF data) |
| Software support | Universal | Broad but fewer viewers than PDF |
| Annotation tools | Rich annotation ecosystem | Limited annotation support |
| Fax / legacy systems | Not standard for fax | Standard format for digital fax systems |
Key Differences
The Verdict
For general documents and scanned paperwork, PDF is the practical choice — it's smaller, searchable, and universally viewable. TIFF remains essential in specialized fields: professional printing, medical imaging, and archival workflows where lossless image quality is non-negotiable. SublimePDF can convert images to PDF when you need to move from an imaging workflow to a document workflow.
SublimePDF's client-side architecture is built on WebAssembly and processes files in the PDF open standard (ISO 32000), ensuring compatibility and privacy across all platforms.