SVG and TIFF file types have critical roles in the digital world, while each format has strengths and weaknesses in its respective fields of application. The varying features of SVG vs. TIFF compel users to study and understand each file type to choose the best image format for a specific object or project.
The article identifies and elaborates on the key features of TIFF vs. SVG, including performance, file size, structure, compression, image quality, web browser support, animation and transparency support, and storage needs.
When is SVG better than TIFF?
SVG images are universally supported by top and legacy web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, IE, Opera, Brave, Discord, Samsung Internet, and Edge, while Safari supports TIFF images but is incompatible with major web browsers.
The .svg file format is ideal for designing and developing icons for applications and websites with simpler shapes and colors and displaying simple charts, 2D Graphics, and illustrations.
When is TIFF better than SVG?
TIFF images are detailed, multilayered, high-quality, and support animations with outstanding color accuracy, while SVG images are complex, making them unsuitable for detailed and textured images such as photographs.
TIFF files are ideal for info-rich, color-accurate, and professional scanning, printing, and publishing. TIFF file type stores high-resolution data and multiple pages in a single file, allowing web developers and graphic designers to merge separate documents in an ideal package and uphold their formatting options.
TIFF versus SVG Comparison Table
| Element | TIFF | SVG |
| Transparency | Supports transparency. | Supports transparency |
| File Size | Larger files compared to SVG files. | Smaller files compared to TIFF files |
| Image Quality | High-quality images than SVG images. | Slightly low-quality images than TIFF images. |
| Performance | Larger and loads slower on websites than SVG. | Smaller and loads faster on websites than TIFF. |
| Structure | Raster graphic: Has Image File Header, the bitmap data and image file directory. | Vector graphic: Has XML markup language with XML code specifying colors, shapes, texts, and paths. |
| Animation | Does not support animation | Supports animation |
| Storage | More storage space demands than SVG. | Less storage space demands than TIFF. |
| Compression | Supports lossless, PackBits and lossy compression. | Supports lossless compression |
| Browser Support | Limited browser support compared to SVG. | Wider web browser support than TIFF. |
Differences and similarities between SVG and TIFF images
The above table compares the technical features of TIFF versus SVG formats, which support lossless compression and transparency. Both formats exhibit structural differences in file size, lossy compression, structure, animation, image quality, performance, browser support, and storage needs.
Transparency
SVG 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. Yet, its transparency level allows alpha data to be integrated by specifying over three samples per pixel.
In contrast, SVG file extension uses a lossless technique that supports alpha channel transparency at varying intensities. The format has a 'Default' transparent background and other features with particular functions. Besides, SVG files are based on HML, which is innately transparent.
File Size
SVG files are smaller than TIFF files. TIFF file type can store multiple pages in one file, each weighing 4GB. Multiple TIFF files can sometimes reach 3 * 224 Tb. Still, SVG and TIFF hardly use efficient compression techniques, resulting in almost the exact file sizes. Choose SVG over TIFF for smaller files.
Image Quality
SVG and TIFF are both high-quality image formats, although TIFF supports more color profiles, which raises its image quality a notch. TIFF supports 8-bits and 16-bits per color channel alongside an uncompressed 24-bit RGB image and 32-bit unsigned integers.
SVG high-quality images are ascribed to their color bands, striking shapes, lines, and curves retained during compression. It uses XML-based markup language to describe the 2D vector graphics, allowing resolution independence. The format preserves image quality and resolution with up or downscaling.
Performance
The TIFF files are larger than the SVG files because they store multiple pages in a single file, each with a size limit of 4GB. Multiple TIFF files increase website loading times, consume more bytes, and incur additional bandwidth costs compared to SVG files.
As such, the SVG file type is ideal for web usage and creating web imagery. It enhances online user experience and optimizes search engines, hence being highly web-responsive. For better web performance, graphic designers and web developers should choose SVG over TIFF format.
Structure
TIFF is a raster-based format, while SVG is vector-based file type. The variations in structures make both formats difficult and interesting 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.
In a TIFF file, the tag and type 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.
On the other hand, the SVG extension stores images using mathematical formulas, which define and anchor images on vector-based graphics, including grid lines, shapes, curves, and points. It has the XML markup language or code easily embedded directly into HTML documents or XML texts saved to the SVG file.
Scripting languages like JavaScript interactively manipulate or animate every attribute and element within the SVG file. The XML code created in SVG files specifies all texts, colors, paths, and shapes and stores and transfers digital information.
Animation
TIFF file extension does not inherently support animations, while SVG files do. TIFF files are solely created for photography, printing, artwork, GIS mapping, and desktop publishing. Nevertheless, the format supports multiple pages suitable for storing detached frames of animation sequences.
As such, TIFF extensions are used in particular animation software to create high-quality animated content. In contrast, SVG file extensions have markups that support and display website animations. The feature can be accessed from JavaScript, allowing SVG files to support animations via scripting or CSS.
Storage
SVG and TIFF formats store lossless compressed image data, although TIFF further supports lossy and PackBits/ZIP compression. While lossy TIFF results in data loss, it stores multiple files, each not exceeding a storage limit of 4GB. Multiple TIFF files are larger and need more storage space than SVG.
The storage period of TIFF and SVG files is subject to the handling procedures, storage conditions, and storage medium used. Both formats' image data can last indefinitely with proper storage in Hard Drives, Base64 Encoding, Content Delivery Networks, File Systems, and Cloud.
Compression
TIFF supports various types of compression, including lossless (such as LZW and PackBits) and lossy compression, while SVG supports lossless compression. SVG files can be compressed using the gzip algorithm, which typically reduces file size by 20-50%.
Lossless LZW compression in TIFF can effectively minimize file sizes, although it might sometimes increase the size for certain non-photographic images. PackBits compression, another lossless method, reduces file size by around 20% but can sometimes result in minimal compression for some image types.
TIFF also supports lossy compression methods, such as JPEG compression, which reduce file sizes significantly by removing some image data, resulting in a loss of image quality.
Lossless compression methods used in SVG and TIFF (LZW and PackBits) preserve all original image data, ensuring higher-quality images, while lossy compression in TIFF results in smaller files with some loss of quality.
Browser Support
SVG files enjoy universal compatibility and support in most platforms, web browsers, and Operating Systems. They are supported by nearly all modern and older web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Discord, Samsung Internet, Vivaldi, Opera, Brave, and all versions of Internet Explorer, except IE 8.
In contrast, most Operating Systems, namely MacOS, Linux, Windows, iOS, and Android, support TIFF. Safari also supports the format, but it is not supported by Brave, Edge, Firefox, Vivaldi, Discord, IE, and Opera. Plug-ins or TIFF viewer software must be installed to view TIFF files or images on Chrome.
Converting SVG to TIFF or TIFF to SVG
Convertjack can easily convert SVG to TIFF, preserving all image details. Graphic designers and web developers prefer TIFF images because they offer better color accuracy multipage support, are info-rich, and enable high-quality image archiving.
Convertjack is the top TIFF to SVG converter. It ensures universal web browser support, open-source, and an outstanding image format conversion rate, resulting in smaller, high-quality, and user-friendly TIFF files with high web responsiveness and minimal storage demands.