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2006.04.19 21:38 "Re: PDF/A vs. TIFF", by Leonard Rosenthol
At 05:22 PM 4/19/2006, Bob Friesenhahn wrote: > > MUCH smaller file sizes courtesy of JBIG2! And the > > possibility of JPEG2000 for color images. PLUS, the ability > > to do "image segmentation" > > JBIG2 and JPEG2000 use patented algorithms so they are not as useful > as they should be. Patents, provided they are covered by "reasonable licensing" aren't considered a limiting factor in ISO standards. So that's a non-issue. > TIFF can easily be extended to support these compression schemes. It could - but that would just make TIFF "worse" for archiving - not better... > > Don't get me wrong - TIFF serves a variety of purposes, but > > long time archival storage is NOT one of them. > > TIFF bits are no more susceptible to 'rot' than PDF bits. They are > still just on or off like any other form of bit. "bit rot" is NOT the issue for long term storage (at least on the file format side of the fence)....it is about the "ability to preserve information its presentation". Because TIFF (as we know it today) has been "hacked up" by many people for many (incompatible) purposes - not just with new and undocumented tags BUT also with variant implementations of existing tags (eg. OJPEG), it doesn't pass the test for reliability. Neither does "standard" PDF - which is why a SUBSET of the standard, now called PDF/A (or ISO 19005-1) exists - to remove any potential problems and "lock down" areas of ambiguitity. Doing the same for TIFF would be a worthwhile goal...and one that would be necessary for TIFF to achieve a level of respect in the archival community. Of course, there are still the issues of archiving metadata & marginalia - that TIFF doesn't do so well/at all. > I think that the usefulness of TIFF or PDF depends on what you need > to accomplish. I agree, 100%! Leonard --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leonard Rosenthol <mailto:leonardr@pdfsages.com> Chief Technical Officer <http://www.pdfsages.com> PDF Sages, Inc. 215-938-7080 (voice) 215-938-0880 (fax)