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How to convert TIFF to JPG on a Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
Convert TIFF to JPG on a Mac by opening the file in Preview and exporting as JPEG, or by selecting a folder of TIFFs and running Convert › Convert to JPG in FileDial. JPG files are far smaller and open everywhere, but JPG is lossy, so keep the TIFF as your archive copy.
Why TIFFs are awkward to share
TIFF, short for Tag Image File Format, was created by Stephen Carlsen at Aldus for desktop publishing and is now used widely in scanning, prepress and archiving. It supports lossless compression such as LZW and Deflate, and also uncompressed data and high bit depths. That is good for editing and printing, and bad for email attachments.
A scanner that writes multi-megabyte TIFFs per page, or a camera exporting TIFF from a raw editor, leaves you with folders that are slow to send and sometimes unreadable to the person receiving them. JPG is the universal fallback.
Batch convert with FileDial
FileDial treats the selection as a batch. Pick every TIFF, run one tool, and a JPG is written beside each file. The TIFFs are untouched, which is what you want for archive scans.
- Select the TIFF files in Finder.
- Hold the right Option key to open the dial, or right-click and choose Open in FileDial.
- Choose Convert, then release on Convert › Convert to JPG.
- Check the before and after sizes on the result card, then use the JPG copies for sharing.
Preview and Quick Actions
Preview can open TIFF. Choose File > Export, pick JPEG in the Format menu, move the Quality slider and click Save. Apple notes that JPEG and JPEG-2000 exports let you adjust quality, and that several images can be converted at once from one window.
Finder offers a quicker path. Control-click the file, choose Quick Actions, then More and Convert Image, and set the format and size.
What you give up
JPG is lossy. Wikipedia notes that each re-save can lose further quality, and that the advice for editing is to work in a lossless format and export to JPEG only for distribution. Follow that: keep your TIFF masters and treat JPGs as disposable copies.
Other TIFF features do not survive either. Multi-page TIFFs (common in scanning and fax) hold several pages, while a JPG holds one image, so check that you are not converting a multi-page document and losing pages. For document scans consider turning them into a PDF instead, see the images to PDF article. Bit depth above 8 bits per channel is also reduced when going to JPG.
- Keep the TIFF as the archive.
- Multi-page TIFFs need a PDF, not a JPG.
- For web use, follow with Compress › Compress or a resize.
Scans, print files and bit depth
Not all TIFFs are the same kind of file. Scanner output is often a large, uncompressed or LZW-compressed page. Print and prepress files may use high bit depths and colour spaces tuned for printing. Photographs exported from editors can be 16 bits per channel. Wikipedia notes that TIFF supports higher bit depths and several compression schemes, which is exactly why files vary so much in size.
For sharing, none of that detail is needed. A JPG at normal quality is plenty for viewing on screen. For printing, though, check with the printer first: some shops prefer TIFF or high-quality PDF, and a JPG saved at low quality will print worse than the TIFF it came from. If you are unsure, send the JPG for review and keep the TIFF ready.
For a scanned document, a PDF is often more useful than a pile of JPGs. FileDial's Adjust › Scan to PDF… straightens document photos into a searchable PDF, which turns a picture of a page into something you can search.
- Review copy: JPG.
- Print job: ask the printer, keep the TIFF.
- Document scan: a searchable PDF.
Mistakes to avoid
The classic mistake is converting the archive. If your TIFFs are the only record of a scan or a master photo, convert copies and keep the TIFFs. Another is sending multi-page TIFFs as JPGs and losing pages without noticing, so open one result and check the page count before deleting anything.
Preview handles one-offs well, and Quick Actions handle small groups. FileDial is the better choice for hundreds of scans, or when you want to chain a resize and compress step so the output is small enough to email. If colour accuracy matters for print, ask the printer before converting, since a JPG in the wrong profile can print differently from the TIFF.
Privacy of scans
Scanned documents often contain IDs, contracts and signatures. FileDial converts them on the Mac, never uploads them, and works without Wi-Fi. That is a safer default than a free online converter.
Questions
Is TIFF better quality than JPG?
TIFF can store pixels losslessly and at higher bit depths, which suits editing, scanning and printing. JPG is lossy, so it discards some data to save space. For viewing and sharing the difference is often small at good quality settings, but TIFF is the better master.
How much smaller will the JPG be?
It varies a lot with the picture and the quality setting, so no honest single number applies. The result card in FileDial shows the size before and after for your actual files, which is the best way to judge it.
Can I convert a multi-page TIFF to JPG?
A JPG holds a single image, so a multi-page TIFF will not carry every page across as one file. For scanned documents, a PDF is usually the better target, and FileDial has Combine › Images to PDF for image sets.
Do I need to keep the TIFF after converting?
If it is a scan or a master photo, yes. JPG is lossy and re-saving it degrades quality further. FileDial saves the JPG beside the TIFF and never changes the original unless a tool says so up front. A 16-bit TIFF is reduced to 8 bits per channel as a JPG, so keep the TIFF if you plan heavy tonal edits later.