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Images to PDF

How to convert a multi-page TIFF to PDF

By DeckleUpdated

To convert a multi-page TIFF to PDF, open TIFF to PDF, add the TIFF, choose a page size and choose Create PDF. Every frame in the TIFF becomes its own PDF page, in the order the frames are stored. The TIFF file itself is not changed.

TIFF to PDF

One file can hold several frames

Frame 1

Cover

Frame 2

Table

Frame 3

Signed page

3 included frames → 3 planned PDF pages

Example · count included decoded frames, not TIFF filenames.

How to convert a multipage TIFF with Deckle

  1. Open TIFF to PDF and choose Select files, or drop the TIFF onto the page. You can add several TIFFs at once.
  2. Check the list under Images to include. Each TIFF is one row showing its name and file size. The frames inside are counted as soon as you add the file, so a multipage TIFF's row shows how many pages it will make.
  3. If you added several TIFFs, put them in order with the up and down arrows. A multipage TIFF moves as one block.
  4. Under Page size, choose Fit inside A4 for scanned paper documents, then pick Portrait or Landscape and a margin. Keep Match each image only if you want pages sized to the pixels.
  5. Rotate a file with the rotate button on its row if the scan is on its side. The turn applies to every frame in that TIFF.
  6. Choose Create PDF, then download the PDF.
  7. Compare the page count on the result screen with the number of pages in the paper document.

The result screen says how many pages were created and from how many images, so a 12-frame TIFF should read "12 pages" from one image.

How frames become pages

A multipage TIFF is one file holding several images, called frames or pages. Scanners and fax software use it to keep a whole document in a single file. Deckle reads every frame and places each on its own PDF page.

The order is the order inside the file. Deckle does not sort frames by name, date or size. If the scanner stored the pages back to front, the PDF will be back to front too, and you can fix that afterwards with Organize PDF pages.

Several TIFFs work the same way. Three files with four frames each give one 12-page PDF: the four frames of the first file, then the second file's four, then the third's. You cannot reorder or drop single frames in TIFF to PDF; do that on the finished PDF.

Choose the right page size for scans

TIFF scans are usually large. A sheet of A4 scanned at 300 DPI is 2480 × 3508 pixels. With Match each image, Deckle makes one point per pixel, so that page comes out about 34 × 49 inches. It looks normal on screen but prints enormous or tiny depending on the printer's scaling.

Fit inside A4 fixes this. Each frame is shrunk to fit a 595 × 842 pt A4 page and centred, without cropping. The pixels are all kept, so you can still zoom in.

Your TIFF Choose
Scanned letters, forms or contracts Fit inside A4, Portrait, margin None
Landscape plans or spreadsheets Fit inside A4, Landscape
Images where exact pixel size matters Match each image

The scanner's DPI tag is not used for page size. Image DPI and PDF page size explains why.

What changes in the conversion

Each frame is decoded and saved into the PDF as a JPEG at quality 90 on a white background. Colour scans and photos look the same at normal zoom. A crisp black-and-white scan can look slightly softer when zoomed right in, and the PDF can be larger than a highly compressed TIFF.

16-bit frames are reduced to 8 bits per channel, and transparent areas become white. TIFF tags such as scanner resolution, author and date are not carried into the PDF.

Tips

  • Count the pages after you convert. If the result has fewer pages than you expected, the TIFF itself holds fewer frames. See why a TIFF gives an unexpected number of pages.
  • Convert on a computer for large scans. Each frame keeps up to 16 megapixels on a computer or Android device, but only 4 megapixels on an iPhone or iPad; a larger frame is scaled down to fit. A frame above 64 megapixels, or 25 megapixels on an iPhone or iPad, is refused before you start, and Create PDF names the file.
  • Name the output. Type a name in Output PDF name, such as lease-2026-signed. Deckle adds .pdf.
  • Fix order afterwards, not before. Since frames move as a block, reorder single pages in Organize PDF pages once the PDF exists.

Other ways to convert a TIFF to PDF

  • Preview on a Mac. Open the TIFF, choose File > Print, then choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu. Apple describes this in Save a document as a PDF on Mac. The page size follows the print settings rather than the scan.
  • Your scanner software. Many scanners can save straight to PDF. If you still have the paper, rescanning to PDF avoids the conversion step.

Frequently asked questions

Does a multipage TIFF become a multipage PDF?

Yes. Every frame becomes a page in the order it is stored in the file. The result screen states how many pages were created.

Why was my TIFF refused?

TIFF to PDF reads uncompressed, LZW and Deflate TIFFs in greyscale, RGB or palette colour. Fax (CCITT), PackBits and JPEG compression, CMYK colour and frames stored with a rotation tag are refused, as are frames above 64 megapixels (25 on iPhone and iPad). The message names the file. Re-saving the scan as an LZW-compressed RGB or greyscale TIFF usually fixes it.

Can I convert several TIFF files into one PDF?

Yes. Add them together, put them in order with the arrows, and choose Create PDF. Their frames run one file after another.

Will the PDF be searchable?

No. Each page is a picture of the scan. You cannot select or search the text in TIFF to PDF's output.

Related tools

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