Which GIMP TIFF compression choices should I avoid when handing over a lossless product-photo intermediate?

Choose compression for the image you have

GIMP 3.0 lists None, LZW, PackBits, Deflate, JPEG, and CCITT Group 3 or Group 4 as TIFF compression choices. The documentation describes None, LZW, PackBits, and Deflate as lossless. JPEG is lossy and unsuitable when image quality matters. Lossless compression avoids that particular loss, but it does not make TIFF a full substitute for the GIMP project: export formats preserve some image properties and lose others.

The fax choices have a different constraint. Group 3 and Group 4 are available only when the image is indexed and reduced to two colors using a black-and-white 1-bit palette. If your photo is a normal color product image, do not change its image mode merely to make those options applicable. Choose one of the lossless choices instead.

Illustrative exercise: separate compression from handoff needs

Illustrative exercise: On working copies, prepare two distinct inputs: a color photo of a red ceramic mug on a white surface, and a black-and-white, two-color 1-bit logo. Do not treat these fictional examples as test results or universal specifications.

For the color photo, compare the available TIFF choices. If JPEG is selected, the image is being exported with lossy compression; stop and choose None, LZW, PackBits, or Deflate if preserving image quality is required. If Group 3 or Group 4 is unavailable, that is consistent with its documented restriction; do not convert the product photo just to unlock it.

For the 1-bit logo, the fax options may be selectable. Their availability does not make them appropriate for the color photo. Pass the exercise when the intended product-photo export uses one of the documented lossless choices and the XCF remains preserved. Stop before handoff if you cannot identify the selected compression or if the exported content does not match the recipient’s needs.

Decide whether layers should become pages

In GIMP 3.0 TIFF export, enabling Save layers stores each layer as a separate TIFF page, ordered from bottom to top. With it disabled, the TIFF stores only the merged result. A recipient who needs the composite alone should receive the merged export; one who needs individual layers must be told that they are separate pages, not assumed to appear as one layered image.

Some viewers load only the first TIFF page. Therefore, a file containing layer pages may look incomplete in a recipient’s viewer even though the pages were exported. Ask the recipient to confirm that their software can access the needed pages. If they cannot, provide the merged result for viewing alongside the preserved XCF for GIMP editing, rather than treating the first-page display as proof that every layer is present.

When Save layers is enabled, Crop layers is enabled by default. GIMP describes it as resizing layers to the image size because TIFF cannot represent negative offsets. If a layer’s position or extent matters, inspect the exported page arrangement and crop before approving the handoff.

Export without replacing the editable master

GIMP distinguishes saving a project from exporting an image. Save uses the native XCF format, which is the documented format for retaining all image information, including layers and transparency, except undo information. Export produces the TIFF; it does not modify the in-memory image. XCF is intended for later work in GIMP, while most other image-viewing programs cannot read it.

Keep the approved original unchanged and make a test copy for export checks. Save the editable project as XCF and export a separate TIFF. Open or inspect the TIFF using the recipient’s intended workflow, checking the merged appearance or the required pages. If the recipient needs editable GIMP layers, provide the XCF as well; a lossless TIFF compression choice alone does not establish that the TIFF preserves the full project state.

Use a concrete handoff check

Editorial diagnosis: treat compression, page structure, and editability as three separate acceptance questions. A TIFF can use lossless compression yet still be unsuitable if it contains only a merged result when separate layers are required, or if the recipient’s viewer exposes only the first page. Record the intended result before exporting so a failed check points to a specific next action.

Pass only when the TIFF uses an acceptable compression for the image, its merged image or pages match the handoff requirement, and the XCF remains available for GIMP editing. If any part fails, retain the approved source and revise the test export or delivery choice; do not overwrite the master or assume that TIFF alone is an editable project.

Use this question’s review worksheet

The sample rows are fictional exercise data. Preserve the example, save a working copy and record your own inputs, observations and decisions. The example is not a test receipt.

Fictional manual handoff worksheet (CSV)