Layered TIFF

Layered TIFF is a standard TIFF file carrying a flattened preview image plus a private Adobe tag block that stores full Photoshop layer, channel, and mask data for later re-editing.

Extension

.tif

Full name

Layered TIFF (TIFF with embedded Photoshop layer data)

Introduced

TIFF baseline dates to 1986 (Aldus), reaching TIFF 6.0 on June 3, 1992; the Photoshop layer-preserving extension (private tags 34377/37724) is documented in the Adobe Photoshop TIFF Technical Notes, March 22, 2002

Vendor

Adobe Systems (TIFF baseline originally from Aldus Corporation; layer extension defined by Adobe for Photoshop)

What is inside the container

Structurally a layered TIFF is a legal, spec-compliant TIFF: the primary image data is a flattened composite readable by any generic TIFF decoder. Photoshop additionally writes two private tags — ImageResources (34377) and ImageSourceData (37724) — that embed the same kind of layer, adjustment, mask, and blending information found in a native PSD, compressed with RLE or ZIP. Any TIFF-aware application sees only the flat image; only Photoshop and a small set of Photoshop-compatible editors parse the extra tags and reconstruct the editable layer stack.

How to open it

Adobe Photoshop Reads and writes the full layer stack via the ImageResources/ImageSourceData tags — the reference implementation and the only guaranteed round-trip.

Affinity Photo Opens and preserves Photoshop-compatible TIFF layers for cross-editing without forcing a flatten.

Krita Supports reading and, with caveats on complex effects, writing layered TIFF via the same tag convention.

Any generic TIFF viewer / GIMP / browsers Displays only the flattened composite image; the layer data is silently ignored, not lost, but not visible either.

For archives

Store layered TIFFs as working masters only when a Photoshop-based edit pipeline genuinely needs the layers preserved; for pure archival and access purposes, keep a flattened TIFF or JPEG derivative since most systems and viewers only ever see the composite anyway. Because the layer data lives in a private, Adobe-specific tag rather than a documented open standard, don't rely on non-Adobe tools to round-trip it losslessly — verify layer integrity after any conversion, migration, or third-party tool touches the file. Where original layer structure is legally or creatively important, keep the native PSD alongside the TIFF rather than treating the TIFF as the sole source of truth.

TIFF itself dates to Aldus Corporation’s 1986 specification, reaching its long-lived baseline, TIFF 6.0, on June 3, 1992 — the same version still cited by scanners, printers, and imaging libraries today. Layered TIFF isn’t a separate format so much as Photoshop quietly using TIFF’s own extensibility rules against it: TIFF was designed from the start to tolerate private, application-specific tags that non-aware readers simply skip, and Adobe used that mechanism to smuggle an entire PSD-style layer stack into an otherwise standard TIFF file, formalized in the Photoshop TIFF Technical Notes of March 22, 2002.

Application	Layer support
Adobe Photoshop	Full read/write — reference implementation
Affinity Photo	Reads and preserves layers without forcing a flatten
Krita	Reads; writes with caveats on complex effects
Generic TIFF viewers, GIMP, browsers	Flattened composite only — layer data ignored, not deleted

The practical result is a file with two faces. Open it in nearly anything and you get a normal flattened image — safe, predictable, universally viewable. Open it in Photoshop, or a small number of compatible editors, and the same file expands back into its full layer, mask, and adjustment stack. That dual nature is exactly why it matters for a DAM: a system that only reads TIFF’s standard tags will index and preview a layered TIFF correctly as an image, but it has no way of knowing — or telling a user — that editable layer history is sitting invisibly inside the same file.

This creates a real risk in production libraries: a designer exports what looks like a routine TIFF, someone else re-saves or converts it through a tool that doesn’t understand tags 34377 and 37724, and the layer data is silently dropped with no error and no visual change to the flattened preview. A media-aware DAM should at minimum flag the presence of embedded Photoshop resources in a TIFF at ingest, so editors know which files are safe to treat as final flattened assets and which are still working files disguised as one.

Frequently asked

Is a layered TIFF a different file format from regular TIFF?

No — it's a fully standard, spec-compliant TIFF file. Photoshop adds two private tags (34377 and 37724) that hold layer, mask, and channel data; any application that doesn't recognize those tags simply ignores them and reads the flattened image underneath.

Will opening a layered TIFF in a non-Adobe app destroy the layers?

Not automatically on open, but on re-save many non-Photoshop-compatible tools rewrite the TIFF without preserving the private tags, which does destroy the layer data. Viewing is safe; editing and re-saving in an unaware tool is not.

How can a DAM detect that a TIFF has embedded layers before someone edits it?

By checking for the presence of TIFF tags 34377 (ImageResources) and/or 37724 (ImageSourceData) during ingest metadata extraction, which flags the file as carrying Photoshop-specific layer data beyond the flattened composite.

Why would a designer save layers inside a TIFF instead of using native PSD?

TIFF's broader compatibility means the same file works as a normal flattened image everywhere else in a pipeline — print, web export, other software — while still round-tripping full editability back in Photoshop, avoiding the need to maintain two separate files.

Does a layered TIFF's flattened preview always match the current layer state?

Yes, when saved properly by Photoshop the flattened composite is regenerated to match the visible result of all layers at save time, so a system reading only the flat image still sees an accurate final look.

Do layered TIFFs compress well?

The layer data itself can be compressed with RLE or ZIP, but layered TIFFs are still substantially larger than a plain flattened TIFF because they carry the full layer, mask, and channel information in addition to the composite image.

Can Krita or Affinity Photo fully replace Photoshop for editing layered TIFFs?

They can open and re-save Photoshop-compatible layered TIFFs, but fidelity on complex Photoshop-specific features (certain adjustment layers, smart objects, blending modes) isn't guaranteed, so round-tripping through a non-Adobe editor should be verified rather than assumed.

Should archival masters in a DAM be stored as layered TIFF or flattened?

Keep layered TIFF only where the editable structure is actively needed by a Photoshop-based workflow; for long-term archival and general access, a flattened TIFF or JPEG derivative is more portable and doesn't depend on any single vendor's private tag support.

Sources

TIFF Revision 6.0 was finalized by Aldus Corporation on June 3, 1992 and remains the format's long-standing baseline specification. checked 2026-08-07 — Library of Congress — TIFF, Revision 6.0
Layered TIFF files use Adobe Photoshop-specific ImageResources (tag 34377) and ImageSourceData (tag 37724) TIFF tags to embed layer and mask information, as documented in the Adobe Photoshop TIFF Technical Notes of March 22, 2002. checked 2026-08-07 — psdtags (GitHub) — Read and write layered TIFF ImageSourceData and ImageResources tags
When a layered Photoshop document is saved as TIFF, Photoshop creates a flat composite image for general compatibility while storing the layer data separately, compressible with RLE or ZIP. checked 2026-08-07 — Amyspark — Reading and writing a Photoshop TIFF