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Why is my TIFF to PDF missing pages? (and how to fix it)

By DeckleUpdated

If a TIFF to PDF conversion has fewer pages than you expected, the TIFF almost always holds fewer frames than you thought, or a file was unticked. TIFF to PDF makes exactly one page per frame and never skips a frame it cannot read, so compare the page count on the result screen with the frames in each file. Your TIFF file is not changed by converting it.

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 find the missing pages

  1. Count the pages on the paper document, or the pages your scanner reported.
  2. Open TIFF to PDF and add the TIFF files again, or drop them onto the page.
  3. Check Also open in this tab. A TIFF listed there is unticked and will not be in the PDF. Tick it to include it.
  4. Check the order of the rows under Images to include. Each TIFF is one row, and all its frames go into the PDF together.
  5. Choose Create PDF. The result screen says how many pages were created and from how many images.
  6. If the count is short, open each TIFF in another viewer that shows multipage TIFFs and count its frames there.

Deckle reads each TIFF's frames as soon as you add it, so a multipage TIFF's row shows its frame count before you convert. If that number is already short, the TIFF itself is missing pages. The result screen confirms the final count.

Common causes of missing pages

What you see Likely cause Fix
The PDF has fewer pages than the paper The scanner saved only some pages into the file Rescan, or find the other TIFF files
One page per TIFF, but there were more TIFFs Some files were left out or unticked Tick them under Also open in this tab, or add them
Each TIFF gives exactly one page The scan was saved as one TIFF per page Add every TIFF file together and put them in order
The run stopped with an error naming a frame One frame uses a format the decoder cannot read See below
Create PDF is disabled and names a TIFF A frame is too large to read on this device See the pixel limit below

Many scanners and fax programs save each page as its own TIFF, often named scan0001.tif, scan0002.tif and so on. Each file then becomes one row and one page. Add them all at once and check their order, since Deckle follows the list rather than file names.

When the run stops part-way

Deckle does not skip frames it cannot read. If any frame in any TIFF fails, the whole run stops and the message names the file and frame number, for example "TIFF frame 7". You get no PDF with a page quietly missing.

The usual reasons:

  • Pixel limit. This one is caught before the run: a frame above 64 megapixels on a computer or Android device, or 25 megapixels on iPhone and iPad, keeps Create PDF disabled and the button names the file. A frame scanned at 600 DPI on A4 is about 35 megapixels, so it is refused on iPhone and iPad, and scaled down to 16 megapixels on a computer. Rescan at 300 DPI, or reduce the resolution in an image editor.
  • Compression. Uncompressed, LZW and Deflate TIFFs are read. Fax (CCITT), PackBits and JPEG compression are refused. Re-save the TIFF with LZW compression.
  • Colour. CMYK TIFFs are refused. Re-save as RGB or greyscale.
  • Rotation tag. A frame stored with an orientation tag that rotates or flips it is refused. Re-save the TIFF upright from an image editor.

For conversions that are slow rather than failing, see what to do when a large TIFF conversion stalls.

More pages than expected

Sometimes the PDF has extra pages instead. Two causes are common:

  • Duplex scanning. A scanner set to scan both sides adds a frame for every back, blank or not. A ten-page single-sided letter becomes 20 frames.
  • Several TIFFs with overlapping pages. Scanning a stack twice gives duplicate frames.

Remove the extra pages after converting: open the PDF in Organize PDF pages, remove the blank pages and choose Save pages. How to delete pages from a PDF walks through it.

Pages in the wrong order

Frames go into the PDF in the order they are stored in the TIFF, and multiple TIFFs follow the list order. If a scanner fed the stack in reverse, the PDF is reversed too. TIFF to PDF does not reorder single frames, so fix the order in Organize PDF pages after converting.

Tips

  • Count the paper. Write the number of sheets on the first page before you scan, so you have something to check against.
  • Check another viewer when in doubt. Open the TIFF in an image viewer that shows every page of a multipage TIFF, and count the frames there.
  • Add every file in one go. Selecting all the TIFFs together makes it harder to leave one behind.
  • Keep the TIFF. It is the source; the PDF is a copy you can always make again.

Frequently asked questions

Does Deckle skip TIFF frames it cannot read?

No. If a frame cannot be read, the run stops and names the frame. A finished PDF always has one page per frame.

Why does my TIFF give only one page?

The file holds one frame. Your scanner probably saved each page as a separate TIFF. Add all the files together.

Can I convert just some frames of a TIFF?

Not in TIFF to PDF. Convert the whole file, then remove unwanted pages in Organize PDF pages.

How can I tell how many pages a TIFF has?

Convert it: the result screen states the number of pages created, one per frame. To check before converting, open the file in an image viewer that shows multipage TIFFs.

Related tools

Sources