Question

Is there a quick way of telling whether a figure in a manuscript must be saved as a TIFF or as an EPS file? Also, I know that TIFF is available as a part of MS Office. However, if I need to generate ESPs, is there an easy way of getting access to the software?

Answer

EPS is a vector format and TIFF is a raster format. The major difference in printing is that an EPS file can be scaled up or down without losing integrity or becoming blurred. A TIFF file cannot be scaled without losing some integrity. TIFF is used where high quality image production is needed.  EPS files need special software to open or view. If the image was received as EPS, leave it as such – it can be converted to TIFF but that would be a downgrade; if it was received as a TIFF, again leave it as such – it is almost impossible to convert it to a proper EPS. Most journals will accept TIFF or even PNG, another raster format with lossless compression but less versatile than TIFF.

Thank you to Ian Webling for providing this information in the 24/04/2026 PEGForum thread, How to tell whether a figure should be saved as a TIFF or EPS file