---
title: "TIFF (TIF): meaning and marketplace rules | Herofab"
description: "A format for high-quality master files, used in print, scanning and retouching."
url: https://herofab.app/glossary/tiff
language: en
updated: 2026-11-06
---

# TIFF

A format for high-quality master files, used in print, scanning and retouching. It can hold layers, extra channels and print colour, and its files are very large.

Also called **TIF** · **TIFF file**

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TIFF is the file a retoucher or a print studio often delivers: lossless, with room for more tonal steps than JPEG, and able to keep layers, saved selections and a clipping path. Some marketplaces still list it among their upload formats, a habit from print catalogues, others leave it out, and channels that accept it convert it for display in any case.

Uploading a studio TIFF directly is where things go wrong. The file may be in CMYK, store sixteen bits per channel, carry layers that an upload system flattens in its own way, or hold an extra channel that turns into a stray background. Before upload the file is flattened, converted to RGB at eight bits per channel in sRGB, and exported as JPEG or PNG.

Its size is the other trap. A TIFF can be many times heavier than the JPEG of the same photo, and the compression options inside the format differ: the lossless ones are widely read, while TIFF files that use JPEG compression inside open in some programs and fail in others. Keeping the TIFF as the archive master and exporting a fresh copy for each channel avoids both problems.

## TIFF, answered.

**Should I ask my photographer for TIFF or JPEG files?**

Ask for both where the budget allows: a TIFF or other lossless master for the archive and later edits, and JPEG copies in sRGB for direct use. The master lets you export another size or crop later without compressing a photo twice. Agreeing on format, colour space and pixel size in the brief before the shoot saves a round of conversions afterwards.

**Is a TIFF sharper than a JPEG of the same photo?**

No, not when both hold the same pixels: sharpness comes from focus, lens and resolution, not from the format. The difference is compression loss, which a high-quality JPEG keeps small and a low setting or repeated saving makes visible. A TIFF made from a JPEG also carries every flaw of that JPEG, only in a heavier file.

## What marketplaces say about it.

Updated 25 September 2026

- **Amazon:** JPEG, TIFF, PNG or non-animated GIF; JPEG is preferred [Official page](https://sell.amazon.com/blog/product-photos)
- **Google Shopping:** JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF [Official page](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350?hl=en)
- **Kaufland:** PNG, JPG/JPEG, WebP, TIFF and GIF [Official page](https://www.kauflandglobalmarketplace.com/en/seller-university/selling/product-data/product-data-guideline/)
- **BigCommerce:** JPEG/JPG, GIF, WebP and PNG; TIFF and PDF are not supported, and CSV imports also exclude BMP [Official page](https://support.bigcommerce.com/s/article/Adding-Products-v3)
- **Avocadostore:** JPG, PNG, TIFF or WEBP, up to 50 MB [Official page](https://avocadostoremarket.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/32194840197906)
- **Best Buy Canada:** Cropped close to the product on a white background; EPS, TIFF, JPEG or PSD, in that order of preference; RGB or CMYK [Official page](https://partners.bestbuy.com/-/digital-assets-product-shot-guides-ca)

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