PDF to TIFF Converter

Transform your PDF documents into high-quality TIFF images for archiving and editing.

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Requires advanced TIFF library for full support.
If unchecked, attempts multi-page TIFF (currently outputs first page as PNG for demo).
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PDF to TIFF Converter

PDF to TIFF Converter online.

PDF to TIFF Converter — Convert PDF Pages to High-Quality TIFF Images

PDF to TIFF Converter — Convert PDF Pages to High-Quality TIFF Images

Need to convert PDF pages into TIFF images? Whether you’re preparing documents for archival, sending scanned pages to a print shop, or feeding images into OCR and document-management systems, converting PDF to TIFF is a common and useful task. This guide covers everything: what TIFF is, when to use it, the best tools (online, desktop, and command-line), step-by-step instructions, batch automation, image-quality tips, and troubleshooting.

What is TIFF and why use it?

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a flexible, widely supported raster image format commonly used in professional publishing, scanning, and archiving. Key characteristics:

  • Lossless (optionally): TIFF supports lossless compression (e.g., LZW, ZIP) so images retain full fidelity.
  • Multi-page support: TIFF can contain multiple pages in a single file — perfect for entire PDF documents.
  • High bit-depth: TIFF supports 8, 16, and even 32 bits per channel for high-color accuracy.
  • Metadata & tags: TIFF stores extensive metadata useful for archiving (DPI, color profile, etc.).

Use TIFF when you need archival-quality images, high-fidelity scans for OCR, or compatibility with legacy imaging workflows used by many enterprise systems.

When should you convert PDF to TIFF?

Common use cases include:

  • Archiving & compliance: TIFF is preferred for long-term preservation in some industries (law, healthcare).
  • OCR pre-processing: Many OCR engines perform best on TIFF images with consistent DPI and bit-depth.
  • Print production: Professional printers sometimes request TIFF for image assets.
  • Legacy systems: Some document management systems accept TIFF only.
  • Multi-page image exchange: Convert multi-page PDFs into multi-page TIFFs for a single-file delivery.

Preparation: What to check before converting

To get the best results, check these things first:

  • Is the PDF text-based or image-based? For scanned PDFs (images inside the PDF), you may already have high-quality raster pages—adjust DPI and compression accordingly.
  • Desired DPI: 300 DPI is a good default for OCR and printing; 150–200 DPI may suffice for on-screen use.
  • Color vs. grayscale vs. bilevel: Choose color for photos, grayscale for black-and-white photos and documents, and bilevel (1-bit) for fax-style monochrome scans.
  • Compression: Use lossless compression (LZW/ZIP) to preserve quality; use Group 4 (CCITT) for high-efficiency black-and-white scans.
  • Multi-page vs single-page TIFF: Decide whether you want one TIFF per page or a single multi-page TIFF.

Conversion Methods — Overview

There are three main approaches:

  1. Online tools — quick and easy for one-off conversions.
  2. Desktop apps — GUI-driven, more control, privacy-friendly.
  3. Command-line tools & scripts — best for automation, bulk jobs, and exact control.

Method A — Online Converters

Online converters are handy if you don’t want to install anything. Typical steps:

  1. Choose a trusted site (make sure it uses HTTPS).
  2. Upload your PDF.
  3. Select TIFF/TIF and options (DPI, color mode, single/multipage).
  4. Download the TIFF(s).

Pros: Fast, no install. Cons: Privacy concerns for sensitive documents and file size limits.

Method B — Desktop Applications

Popular desktop apps include Adobe Acrobat Pro, IrfanView (with plugins), and specialized scanning/archiving software.

Adobe Acrobat Pro:

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat.
  2. File → Export To → Image → TIFF.
  3. Choose export settings (color, DPI, single or multi-page).
  4. Export and save.

IrfanView (Windows): Use File → Save As → select TIFF and configure save options (compression, multi-page).

Pros: GUI control, offline privacy. Cons: Some apps are paid; batch workflows may need extra steps.

Method C — Command-Line Tools (Power Users)

Command-line tools are the most flexible and scriptable. Two heavyweight toolchains are poppler (pdftoppm/pdftocairo) and ImageMagick. They can be combined for precise results.

1) Using pdftoppm (poppler) → convert to TIFF

pdftoppm renders PDF pages to raster images. Example (Linux/macOS/Windows builds available):

pdftoppm -r 300 -tiff input.pdf output_prefix

This creates PNG/TIFF files per page named output_prefix-1.tiff, etc. Options:

  • -r 300 sets resolution to 300 DPI
  • -png or -tiff chooses output format

2) Using pdftocairo (poppler) for better multi-page and color handling

pdftocairo -tiff -r 300 input.pdf output.tiff

Depending on your poppler build, pdftocairo can produce multi-page TIFFs directly.

3) Using ImageMagick (magick/convert)

ImageMagick can convert PDFs to TIFF with fine-grained options. Example:

magick -density 300 input.pdf -compress lzw -colorspace sRGB output.tiff

Notes:

  • -density 300 sets rasterization DPI
  • -compress lzw uses LZW lossless compression
  • Use -colorspace Gray for grayscale or -threshold and -monochrome for bilevel

4) Combining tools for batch and multi-page TIFF

To make a multi-page TIFF from individual PNG/TIFF pages produced by pdftoppm:

pdftoppm -r 300 input.pdf page
magick page-*.tiff -compress lzw -adjoin output-multipage.tiff

-adjoin tells ImageMagick to write a multi-page TIFF.

Pros: Complete control, scriptable, ideal for automating large jobs. Cons: Requires command-line familiarity; ImageMagick may use a lot of memory for large PDFs.

Recommended Settings for Common Scenarios

OCR-ready TIFFs:

  • DPI: 300 (preferred), 400 for very small text
  • Mode: Grayscale or bilevel (black/white) depending on source
  • Compression: CCITT Group 4 for bilevel; LZW/ZIP for grayscale
  • Ensure straightened pages (deskew) and high contrast

Archival-quality TIFFs:

  • DPI: 300–600 depending on archival standards
  • Color: 24-bit RGB or 48-bit for professional photography
  • Compression: Lossless (LZW/ZIP); avoid lossy formats
  • Embed metadata (XMP, DPI, author)

Web/preview TIFFs:

  • DPI: 150–200
  • Compression: LZW or no compression if storage isn’t a concern
  • Use single-page TIFFs for easy embedding

Batch Conversion and Automation

When handling dozens or thousands of PDFs, automate with scripts or job queues. A simple Bash example to convert all PDFs in a folder to multi-page TIFF using pdftoppm + ImageMagick:

#!/bin/bash
mkdir -p tiffs
for f in *.pdf; do
  prefix="${f%.*}"
  pdftoppm -r 300 "$f" "tmp_${prefix}"
  magick tmp_${prefix}-*.tiff -compress lzw -adjoin "tiffs/${prefix}.tiff"
  rm tmp_${prefix}-*.tiff
done

For Windows, similar PowerShell scripts can be written calling ImageMagick and pdftoppm executables.

Quality Control — What to Inspect After Conversion

  • Legibility: Zoom pages to 100% and 200% to check text clarity for OCR/printing.
  • Skew & cropping: Ensure no important margins or headers are cut off.
  • Color fidelity: Verify that color images retained their tone and saturation.
  • Page order: Check multi-page TIFF for correct ordering.
  • File size vs quality: Compare different compression settings to find a balance.

Privacy & Security Considerations

When converting sensitive PDFs (invoices, contracts, medical records):

  • Avoid public web converters unless you trust the vendor’s privacy policy and encryption.
  • Prefer offline tools (pdftoppm, ImageMagick, Acrobat) for confidential documents.
  • Clean up temporary files — ensure intermediate images are removed securely.
  • Encrypt archives if you store or transmit multi-page TIFFs.

Common Problems & Fixes

Blurry or unreadable text

Fix: Increase DPI (to 300–600) or use vector/pdf-native text extraction rather than rasterization when possible.

Huge TIFF files

Fix: Use appropriate compression (LZW/ZIP for grayscale, Group 4 for bilevel). Convert color pages to grayscale if color is unnecessary.

Missing pages

Fix: Re-run conversion with a different tool (pdftocairo vs pdftoppm) and verify the source PDF for corrupted pages.

OCR fails on converted TIFF

Fix: Preprocess images (deskew, despeckle, increase contrast) and ensure DPI is at least 300. Use a high-quality OCR engine.

Practical Examples & Commands

1) Convert single PDF to multi-page TIFF with pdftocairo

pdftocairo -tiff -r 300 input.pdf output.tiff

2) Convert PDF to single-page TIFFs with pdftoppm

pdftoppm -tiff -r 300 input.pdf page

3) Convert and compress with ImageMagick

magick -density 300 input.pdf -compress lzw -quality 100 output.tiff

4) Produce bilevel TIFF for fax/OCR

magick -density 300 input.pdf -colorspace Gray -threshold 50% -compress Group4 output-fax.tiff

Recommended Tools & Libraries

  • poppler-utils (pdftoppm, pdftocairo) — reliable PDF rasterizers
  • ImageMagick (magick/convert) — flexible image processing and multipage TIFF assembly
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro — GUI-based export with strong support
  • IrfanView — lightweight Windows image tool with batch capabilities
  • tiffcp/tiffinfo (libtiff) — inspect and manipulate TIFF tags and metadata

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What’s the difference between TIFF and JPEG?

A: TIFF supports lossless compression and multi-page files; JPEG is lossy and single-image, better for photos but not for archival or OCR-critical documents.

Q: Can I convert scanned PDFs (images) to TIFF without quality loss?

A: Yes — choose lossless compression (LZW/ZIP) and keep the original DPI. Avoid recompressing with lossy settings.

Q: How do I make a multi-page TIFF?

A: Use tools like pdftocairo -tiff (if supported) or render pages to separate TIFFs and then use ImageMagick with -adjoin to combine them.

Q: Is TIFF larger than PDF?

A: Often yes — TIFF is raster-based so file size depends on resolution and color depth. PDFs with vector text can be much smaller than equivalent TIFF images.

Q: Which compression do you recommend for archives?

A: Use lossless compression like LZW or ZIP. For black-and-white scanned documents, use CCITT Group 4 for excellent compression and OCR accuracy.

Final Thoughts

Converting PDF to TIFF is straightforward once you pick the right tools and settings. For occasional conversions, online or GUI tools are convenient. For professional workflows — OCR pre-processing, archive-grade images, or high-volume batch jobs — use command-line tools (poppler + ImageMagick) and automate with scripts. Always pick DPI and compression settings that match your end goal: OCR, printing, or long-term archiving. And, when handling sensitive documents, prefer offline conversion and secure cleanup of temporary files.

If you’d like, I can generate a ready-to-run script tailored to your environment (Windows PowerShell, macOS Bash, or Linux) that batch-converts PDFs in a folder to multi-page, LZW-compressed, 300 DPI TIFFs and optionally uploads them to a specified directory or S3 bucket — tell me your platform and I’ll create it for you.