The '''TIFF''' ([[TaggedTag Image File Format]]) format is a flexible format usually using either the '''TIFF''' or '''TIF''' filename extension. The taggedtag structure was designed to be easily extendible, and many vendors have introduced proprietary special-purpose tags – with the result that no one reader handles every flavor of TIFF file. TIFFs can be lossy or lossless, depending on the technique chosen for storing the pixel data. Some offer relatively good lossless compression for [[bi-level image|bi-level (black&white) images]]. Some digital cameras can save images in TIFF format, using the [[LZW]] compression algorithm for lossless storage. TIFF image format is not widely supported by web browsers, but it remains widely accepted as a photograph file standard in the printing business. TIFF can handle device-specific color spaces, such as the [[CMYK]] defined by a particular set of printing press inks. [[Optical character recognition|OCR]] (Optical Character Recognition) software packages commonly generate some form of TIFF image (often [[Monochrome|monochromatic]]) for scanned text pages.
