What is the difference between JPG and TIF formats?
A. JPEG files are smaller than TIF files but are ‘lossy’ which means that when they are saved, they compress the data, by throwing tiny bits of it away. When a JPEG file is uncompressed it does not always duplicate the original data exactly. It is not a good idea to keep opening and resaving JPEG files as they will gradually deteriorate. However if used as a way of initially storing and sending a file the advantages outweigh the disadvantages which is why this is the standard format used in digital cameras. TIF files on the other hand are ‘lossless’ meaning no data is ever thrown away. The result is that TIF files are much larger than JPEG files but they preserve every pixel that was in the original.
