When is ICO better than TIFF?
ICO images are widely supported by most web browsers. They can be scaled without losing resolution and quality levels, while TIFF images are non-scalable, indistinct, or blurry when scaled upwards or downwards. This makes ICO files suitable for creating professional and sharp icons for desktop computer shortcuts, such as apps, files, and folders.
When is TIFF better than ICO?
TIFF images are data-rich, multilayered, high-quality, and support outstanding color accuracy, while ICO images are simply structured and support limited color spaces, making them inappropriate for detailed and textured images, including photographs.
TIFF files are ideal for accurate, detailed, and professional scanning, printing, and publishing. The TIFF format stores high-resolution data and multiple pages in a single file, allowing users to merge separate documents in a suitable package and uphold their formatting options.
TIFF versus ICO Comparison Table
| Element | ICO | TIFF |
| Transparency | Supports transparency | Supports transparency. |
| File Size | Smaller files than TIFFs. | Larger files compared to ICO files. |
| Image Quality | Lower image quality than TIFF images. | High-quality images than ICO images. |
| Performance | Smaller and highly web-responsive than TIFFs. | Larger and less web-responsive than ICO. |
| Structure | Consists of Icon directory, image mask, XOR bitmap, a block, and the AND bitmap. | Consists of the Image File Header, the bitmap data and image file directory. |
| Animation | Supports animations. | Does not support animation |
| Storage | Needs less storage space than TIIFF. | Needs more storage space than ICO. |
| Compression | PNGOUT and TinyPNG lossless compression. | Lossless, PackBits and lossy compression. |
| Browser Support | Wider web browser support than TIFF. | Limited browser support compared to ICO. |
Differences and similarities between ICO and TIFF images
The comparison table above highlights the features of ICO versus TIFF. Both formats support lossless compression and transparency but differ in file size, structure, PackBits, animations, lossy compression, storage, image quality, browser support, and performance.
Transparency
ICO and TIFF image formats support transparency. TIFF supports alpha channel transparency, which does not work in design. The format's transparent backgrounds are unsuited for different web-based programs. But, its transparency level allows alpha data to be integrated by specifying over three samples per pixel.
In contrast, ICO allows graphic designers and web developers to add semi-transparent areas, including glass-like effects, anti-aliasing, and shadows to an image. It supports icons with varying color depths, dimensions, and 8 bits of transparency.
File Size
ICO files are smaller than TIFF files. While both formats store multiple images in one file, one TIFF file weighs 4GB, and multiple such files can reach 3 * 224 Tb. Besides, ICO and TIFF compression methods are inefficient, resulting in nearly the same file sizes. Choose ICO over TIFF for smaller files.
Image Quality
ICO and TIFF are high-quality image formats, though TIFF supports more color profiles, which improves its image quality. TIFF supports 8-bits and 16-bits per color channel, an uncompressed 24-bit RGB image, and 32-bit unsigned integers, while ICO supports 24 bits of colors and 8 bits of transparency.
On the other hand, TIFF files store detailed, high-resolution and high-quality data, including various color spaces like indexed palette, LAB, Grayscale, gray RGB, and bi-level (black and white) among other color profiles and ensures quality retention during compression.
Although lossy TIFF results in data loss, it retains most vital image details and ensures high-image quality compared to the simple structured ICO images. Nonetheless, ICO images are scalable without losing quality and resolution levels, unlike TIFF. But still, choose TIFF instead of ICO for high-quality images.
Performance
The TIFF files are larger than the ICO files because they store large multiple pages in a single file, each weighing 4GB. As a result, multiple TIFF files increase website loading times, consume more bytes, and take more time to be transferred over low network bandwidths compared to the same number of ICO files.
ICO file extension is ideal for web usage and creating computer icons with better online user experience, optimized search engines, and high web-responsiveness. As such, users such as graphic designers and web developers should choose ICO over TIFF files for enhanced web performance.
Structure
ICO is a vector-based file type, while TIFF is a raster-based format, making both formats' structures exciting to compare. TIFF supports a multilayer structure, with each value identified using a tag indicating the data type, including image width or height and the stored data format.
The tag and type in a TIFF are closely followed by the length of various values assigned to a particular tag. Each property, including the single-value properties, is stored in arrays. TIFFs allow different metadata for identical properties, where the image width can be saved using tag 0x0100 in a single-entry array.
Conversely, an ICO file starts with an Icon directory (ICONDIR), which contains the ICONDIRENTRY structure for every image in the ICO file. ICO has a contiguous block with image bitmap data closely following each image file.
The file has the AND bitmap – the XOR bitmap and an image mask. The ICO's image bitmap data is either in PNG or Windows BMP format, which excludes the BITMAPFILEHEADER structure. It contains multiple or a single small image with different color depths and sizes.
Animation
TIFF file extension does not support animations, while ICO files integrally do. TIFF files are solely created for photography, printing, artwork, GIS mapping, and desktop publishing. Nonetheless, the format supports multiple pages suitable for storing detached frames of animation sequences.
TIFF files are used in specific animation software to create high-quality animated content. In contrast, an ICO file has icon features that enable enhanced customization of websites or computer apps that support multiple color depths and resolutions. Such features allow ICO files to be animated.
Storage
TIFF and ICO file types store lossless image data, though TIFF also supports lossy and PackBits/ZIP compression. Whereas lossy TIFF results in data loss, it stores multiple files, each weighing 4GB. Thus, multiple TIFF files are larger and need more storage space than multiple lossless ICO files.
The storage time for ICO and TIFF data is subject to the handling procedures, storage conditions, and storage medium used. Both formats' data can last indefinitely in Hard Drives, Base64 Encoding, Content Delivery Networks, Cloud, and File Systems, including sub-directory files, folders, or programs.
Compression
TIFF uses lossless, PackBits, and lossy compression, while ICO uses lossless TinyPNG and PNGOUT compression. Compress ICO files using lossless compression with Huffman coding and LZ77 algorithms to achieve smaller, higher-quality images, as they retain all image data like lossless and PackBits TIFFs.
TIFF's lossless LZW algorithms reduce files by 6%, but the non-photo image sizes sometimes increase by 50%. Its PackBits compression minimizes files by 20%, but occasionally, it can result in a zero compression rate for non-photographic TIFF images. It also supports lossy compression, where the table-based lookup algorithms eliminate identical data and compress the remaining details into smaller files.
Browser Support
ICO files enjoy universal compatibility and support in most platforms, web browsers, and Operating Systems. They are supported by modern and older web browsers, including Opera, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, but they are unsupported by Safari and Internet Explorer.
In contrast, TIFF is supported by most Operating Systems, namely MacOS, Linux, Windows, iOS, and Android, although it has limited web browser support. Safari supports the format, but Brave, Edge, Firefox, Vivaldi, Discord, IE, and Opera do not.
Converting ICO to TIFF or TIFF to ICO
Convertjack can easily convert ICO to TIFF and ensures all image details are preserved. TIFF images are ideal because they offer better color accuracy multipage support, are data-rich, and allow high-quality image archiving.
Convertjack is the best TIFF to ICO converter, ensuring universal web browser support. It allows users to store icons in one file and makes it easier to design icons for display on various screen resolutions. The format files are smaller, user-friendly, highly web-responsive, and require minimal storage space.