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PDFToolz

TIFF to PDF Converter

Turn TIFF and TIF images into one PDF. Every page of a multi-page TIFF becomes a PDF page, and black and white scans stay at 1 bit.

Select TIFF files

or drop them anywhere on this page, or paste

Opens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

TIFF to PDF Converter, free and private

This TIFF to PDF converter turns TIFF and TIF images into one PDF. Every page of a multi-page TIFF becomes a PDF page, so a 30 page fax or a batch of scans stays one document. Add several files and set their order before you convert.

Black and white scans stay small. Fax and other black and white pages are stored at 1 bit per pixel, so a typed A4 page at 300 DPI takes about 100 KB. The TIFF is read in your browser, so the file is never uploaded.

How to convert TIFF to PDF

  1. 1

    Add your TIFF files

    Press Select TIFF files or drop .tif and .tiff files on the page. Use Add more for further files.

  2. 2

    Set the file order

    Each file gets a numbered card. Use the ‹ and › buttons to move it. All pages of the first file come first, then all pages of the next.

  3. 3

    Choose page size, orientation and margin

    Under Page size, pick A4, Letter or Fit image. Fit image uses the resolution saved in the TIFF, so with No margin a 300 DPI A4 scan gives an exact A4 page. A preview shows every page, including each page of a multi-page TIFF.

  4. 4

    Convert TIFF to PDF

    Press Create PDF, then Preview to check the pages or Download PDF to save them. The PDF takes the name of the first file, such as scan.pdf.

Why use PDFToolz for this

Multi-page TIFF to PDF

The converter follows the chain of pages inside the TIFF and makes a PDF page for each one, in order. Thumbnails and transparency masks that some scanners store as extra pages are left out.

Small black and white scans

Every black and white page, Group 3 and Group 4 fax included, is stored at 1 bit per pixel with lossless Flate compression. That is about one and a half times the size of Group 4 data, and every PDF reader can show it.

Lossless colour, CMYK kept

Colour and grey pages are stored without loss. CMYK pages stay CMYK for printing, palette images keep their colour table and an alpha channel becomes PDF transparency. JPEG pages stored in one piece keep their JPEG data.

Real page sizes

The TIFF records how many pixels make an inch. Fit image uses that number, so pages come out at the size of the paper that was scanned. Fax pages at 204 × 98 DPI keep their true proportions instead of looking squashed.

Which TIFF files the converter reads

TIFF is a container with many options, and each scanner or app picks different ones. The converter reads the ones in common use:

  • Compression. None, PackBits, LZW and Deflate, with or without the predictor, plus CCITT Modified Huffman, Group 3 and Group 4 fax, and JPEG.
  • Colour. Black and white, grey, palette, RGB and CMYK, at 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bits per channel, with or without an alpha channel.
  • Layout. Strips or tiles, samples stored together or in separate planes, Intel or Motorola byte order, and BigTIFF files.
  • Orientation. The TIFF orientation tag is applied, so a page stored sideways or mirrored comes out upright.

What it can't convert

When a page uses something on this list, the converter stops and names the file, the page and the reason. Save the TIFF again with LZW, ZIP or Group 4 compression in your scanner software or image editor, then try once more.

  • Old-style JPEG, JPEG 2000, JBIG, LZMA, Zstandard and WebP compression.
  • Floating point pixels, as used for HDR and scientific images.
  • YCbCr colour without JPEG compression, and CIE Lab colour.
  • Pages with more than 400 MB of pixel data, such as a 12000 × 12000 pixel colour scan. That limit keeps the browser tab from running out of memory.

Page size, orientation and margin

Every page keeps its proportions and is centred. Nothing is stretched or cropped.

  • A4 is the default, with pages of 210 × 297 mm. Letter uses 8.5 × 11 inch pages.
  • Fit image sizes each page from the resolution in the TIFF when it lies between 30 and 4800 DPI. Without one, pixels count as printed at 150 DPI and no side is longer than 297 mm. No page goes past 200 inches, the largest page Adobe Reader opens.
  • Orientation Auto turns each A4 or Letter page to match its image. Portrait and Landscape give every page the same direction.
  • Margin Normal leaves 12.7 mm of white around each image, Small leaves 6.35 mm and No margin none.

Quality and file size

Pages stored without loss in the TIFF stay without loss in the PDF. 16 bit images are reduced to 8 bits per channel, which is what screens and printers use. A Photoshop TIFF with layers gives its flattened image, the one every other viewer shows.

One case changes pixels. A JPEG-compressed TIFF split into many strips or tiles is joined into one image and saved again as JPEG at quality 92, scaled down if it is above 16 megapixels. Without this step, PDF viewers would show thin lines between the pieces.

A colour scan saved without loss is large by nature. If the PDF is too big to email, run it through Compress PDF.

After the conversion

A scan is a picture of the page, so the text in the PDF can't be searched or copied yet. Run the PDF through OCR PDF to add a text layer. To remove blank pages a document feeder picked up, use Delete PDF Pages. To make a PDF from JPG or PNG photos, use JPG / PNG to PDF.

Frequently asked questions

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