Re: Zipping image files

From: Tim Au Yeung (ytau@UCALGARY.CA)
Date: Tue Jan 29 2002 - 11:35:36 CST

  • Next message: Ithier de Lestrange: "Re: Zipping image files"

    Message-Id: <200201291736.g0THaRg20986@sitelicense.arizona.edu>
    Date:         Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:35:36 -0700
    From: Tim Au Yeung <mailto:ytau@UCALGARY.CA>
    Subject:      Re: Zipping image files
    To: mailto:IMAGELIB@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
    

    <pre> Based on the specification of TIFF -- no. The header data is stored (within the file that is) separately from the image data. Profiles are embedded into the header information and so aren't affected (to the best of my knowledge). Zipping isn't going change the file at all as it compresses the file as a whole (to which is another gain -- ICC profiles can be fairly large and compressing that using Zip might net you another 500 KB or so).

    Tim

    ----- Original Message ----- From: "Anthony Troncale" <mailto:troncale@AMNH.ORG> To: <mailto:IMAGELIB@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 10:12 AM Subject: Re: Zipping image files

    >
    > Question: Does Zipping or any other compression of a TIFF file change the
    > color profile of a color image? Header information?
    >
    > Anthony Troncale
    > American Museum of Natural History
    >
    >
    > At 09:58 AM 1/29/02 -0700, you wrote:
    > >As a couple of other people pointed out, both TIFF and the ZIP format use
    a
    > >non-lossy compression format -- your gains will be minimal at best if
    you're
    > >using a compressed TIFF. I can, however, see one argument of when using
    ZIP
    > >on TIFF files might make sense:
    > >
    > >If all of your files are uncompressed TIFF (regardless of type; bitonal,
    > >greyscale, colour, etc.), then for archiving purposes, you only need to
    > >emulate two applications: one for decoding an uncompressed TIFF and one
    for
    > >unzipping instead of having an application that has to handle multple
    > >compression algorithms. This could simplify archiving -- I believe
    there's
    > >an open-source version of ZIP (gzip) and the general TIFF format is a
    > >published spec. so both could be implemented in new platforms in the
    future
    > >relatively easily. Using proprietary algorithms (as could be bundled into
    > >TIFF -- the spec. really doesn't care what compression algorithm you use)
    > >might have implications from an archiving perspective.
    > >
    > >Tim
    > >---------
    > >Tim Au Yeung
    > >Manager, Digitization Initiatives
    > >Information Resources
    > >University of Calgary
    > >
    > >
    > >----- Original Message -----
    > >From: "David Adams" <mailto:David.Adams@NATLIB.GOVT.NZ>
    > >To: <mailto:IMAGELIB@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
    > >Sent: Monday, January 28, 2002 12:41 PM
    > >Subject: Zipping image files
    > >
    > >
    > > >
    > > > Does anyone know if there is any form of change to digital image files
    by
    > >using WinZIP or 'zipping' applications?
    > > >
    > > > I am interested to know if this will have an affect on TIFF files that
    are
    > >to be used for long term preservation.
    >

    </pre>



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