To sum up this discussion, use JPEG for quick viewing, web presentations and sharing of your photos and stick to RAW converted to TIFF as a standard archive format whenever possible. It will be a very long time before before TIFF is replaced or becomes extinct. There are billions and billions of important government documents that are stored in this format. Not to mention all the commercial and consumer photography stored in this manner. So, for the purpose of choosing an archive solution TIFF wins hands down. It's a safe bet that TIFF will be around for a very long time into the future.
One to consider: The PNG Format
The PNG file format (Pronounced PING) is gaining popularity around the world. Users are discovering the power of the PNG format and also its affordability which makes it very popular among developers. PNG is a royalty-free format that was invented to replace LZW TIFF and its royalites. It is important to note because of its growing popularity but mostly because of its compression efficiency. PNG provides “lossless” compression at 25% less file size than TIFF plus the added bonus of possibly being supported by web browsers in the near future and offering transparent pixel values. The bad news is that these features have yet to catch on officially and we are still waiting and guessing to see what happens. Your bet is as good as mine on this one but it does show a lot of promise.
Again, our purposes here are to archive our photography, not jump on the latest popular or potential trend and guess as to what the future holds. The last thing you want to do is bet on a horse that ends up coming in last 20 years from now.
For more news on this subject or to start a discussion visit ArchivingDigital.com!
Coming up next:
(Part 7) DPI vs. Pixels What are we talking about?
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
As usual you're kicking ass. This is an awesome series that I will soon link on my blog.
You know one sign why it's good? You didn't waste time telling us what JPEG stood for. It doesn't matter and no one who needs to read this cares one iota.
Thanks again.
Maybe you can tell me about free downloadable games available for the Mac.