I use Picasa for photo organization and manipulation but it doesn't allow me to save photos as .tif files. I recently realized that the free program, paint.net, will save a .jpg file as a .tif file.This is exciting news to me because photographs stored as .tif files are more stable than .jpg files.
I can open the paint.net program, open a .jpg image, do nothing at all to it, and save it as a .tif file.
I have a few precious photographs that cousins have sent as .jpg files. I don't want them to lose a single pixel of clarity. Learning that they can be saved as .tif files has given me much peace of mind.
Photographs that I've taken on my camera and uploaded to my computer are automatically stored as .jpg files. Now I can save them as .tif files and they will be safe from deterioration, too.
Paint.net was already on my computer but you can learn more about it and download it at http://www.getpaint.net/index.html or from Download.com at http://download.cnet.com/Paint-NET/3000-2192_4-10338146.html
For those of you who know less than I do about image storage....
Photo images can be stored as several different kinds of files. The two most common to me are JPEG files and TIFF files. You can tell the difference by the extension at the end of an image. It will be .jpg or .tif.
JPEG or .jpg files
When I move photo images from my digital camera to my computer they are stored as .jpg files. I need .jpg files to upload them to blogger so I can share them, but .jpg files gradually lose clarity when they're opened, manipulated, then saved.
TIFF or .tif files
Photos stored as .tif files never lose clarity no matter how many times they are opened, manipulated, and resaved as .tif files. I cannot upload .tif files to blogger but for long-term storage of precious family photographs, .tif files are more reliable.
Some photographs are so important I don't want to lose a single pixel of a photograph. Those are files I will save as .tif files.
My scanner gives me the option to save photos as .jpg or .tif files. I sometimes save them both ways but if I know I'm going to alter the photo in Picasa by straightening it or adjusting the lighting, etc., then I save it only as a .tif file. If I want to make changes and share it on this blog, I can do so and save it as a .jpg file and also as a .tif file.
Paint.net has capabilities in addition to saving photos as .tif files. I'm just beginning to learn about those.
--Nancy.
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You have reminded me about the importance of the tif. I learned that at a webinar some time ago and was good about scanning and saving in tif format. Then at some point I must have been in a hurry and forgot about it. Shoot.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is not forgetting to save scanned images to TIFF but of editing the photos (straightening, cropping, etc.) and then didn't know how to save to TIFF. At least now you won't have to rescan them, Wendy!
DeleteThank you for this reminder about storing our precious photos as .tif files.
ReplyDeleteI want you to know that your blog post is listed in today Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/04/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-april-25.html
Have a fantastic weekend!
Hi, Jana --
DeleteI think I wrote this post as a reminder to me as much as for anyone else. Thanks for including it in your Fab Finds post. I appreciate it.
Just keep in mind that a jpeg saved as a tif file will never be any clearer than the original jpeg. Basically, you can't get back information that you've already lost. A jpeg file saved as a tif file will have the resolution of a jpeg. It's always best to have the original scan in tif format as long as data storage isn't a consideration..
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right, and it's something I didn't think to mention. I should have....
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