2002.07.25 00:58 "embedding metadata in TIFF and JPEG/JFIF images", by Bill Comstock

Re: embedding metadata in image files

I contribute TIFF images (and other formats) to an archive committed to managing, preserving, and migrating these images, as needed, long into the future. The notion of embedding metatada into these files (more data, more precisely tagged, than the header allows) is extremely appealing. I've been experimenting with embedding Exif metadata and XMP (Adobe's Extensible Metadata Platform).

Questions:

• Does embedding additional metadata in TIFF files, in either of these formats (XMP, Exif), make these files vulnerable to application failures? We've been careful to produce TIFF images that are very generically encoded. We want to maximize the archive's chances of frustration-free future format migrations.
• XMP claims to be based on the W3C's RDF (Resource Description Framework) specification. The metadata syntax is XML. It seems like a very attractive, open specification for embedding metadata. Can anyone speak to the risks and advantages to embedding TIFFs with metadata in one format or the other?

I'm really interested in getting feedback from imaging application developers and TIFF format gurus, especially those familiar with using Exif or XMP to load images with metadata.

Many thanks,

Bill Comstock