What Is the Difference Between a PDF & TIF File?
PDF and TIF file extensions represent different ways of representing pictures for viewing on diverse types of computers. Both have been developed by Adobe Systems, but their original purposes were quite different.
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PDF Defined
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The portable document format (PDF) has been widely promoted by Adobe Systems and is one of the most common formats used for sharing read-only documents among all contemporary user computers. PDFs are multi-page by design.
Uses of PDFs
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When people want to create a read-only copy of a document and share it widely, it is common to render that document in the portable document format. The Macintosh OS X includes the ability to read and create PDFs as a general capability of the operating system. Many applications also offer the ability to export their files in this format.
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TIF Defined
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Tag image file format (TIFF or TIF) is an industry-standard method of encoding picture information. Also developed by Adobe Systems, its use was designed for graphics and photos. It was not originally designed for multi-page documents.
Uses of TIFF
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TIFF, as a bit-map encoding method, was initially used primarily for pictures, but was extended in order to be used as a bit-map encoding method for digital faxes as well. Rather than predetermining all the information required to describe the picture being stored, the TIFF specification allows for a variety of information fields at the beginning of the file. This allows for greater flexibility with TIFF than with some other graphics standards.
Comparisons
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The ability to read TIFFs is embedded into most graphics programs, but not all of these programs are able to process the multiple-page TIFFs now being created. Documents exported or printed as PDFs can include a far wider variety of display options and even security options, but are typically then read with special-purpose readers more readily than with traditional graphics programs. For general purpose document sharing, the PDF is the common choice.
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References
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Shazeen Samad
