CONVERT
TIFF → PCX
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Fast, secure TIFF to PCX conversion. No registration required.
Setup: TIFF is the archival multi-page master format used in scanning, print and document pipelines. Goal: an interchangeable PCX. A TIFF → PCX operation is one of the simplest image jobs there is: same pixel grid, different wrapper. What genuinely changes is how lossy the codec is, whether alpha survives, and how large the final file ends up. KaijuConverter picks safe defaults for each of those and lets you override them under Advanced. Background. TIFF is the archival multi-page master format used in scanning, print and document pipelines. Destination side, PCX is the legacy ZSoft/PC Paintbrush bitmap format from the DOS era.
TIFF Image
Source formatTIFF is a flexible, high-quality image format widely used in publishing, printing, and professional photography. It supports multiple compression methods and color spaces including CMYK.
PCX Image
Target formatPCX (PiCture eXchange) is a legacy raster image format created by ZSoft for their PC Paintbrush program. It was one of the first widely supported image formats on IBM PC compatibles and uses simple run-length encoding compression.
Why convert TIFF to PCX
The real reason to move from TIFF to PCX is almost never picture quality — both raster formats store essentially the same pixels. It is about the tools downstream: which editors open the file natively, which CMSes upload it without transcoding, which social platforms accept it. Picking PCX solves those edge cases at the cost of a short conversion step.
HOW TO CONVERT
TIFF → PCX
Provide the TIFF
Click or drag to upload. We accept a single TIFF file per job, with an optional queue of additional images for batch mode.
Encode to PCX
The conversion decodes the TIFF, resolves the colour space to sRGB and writes the PCX container around the pixel data.
Save the PCX
The download is streamed back over HTTPS. If you uploaded multiple files, a ZIP with all PCX outputs is produced instead.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send PCX files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for TIFF.
Embed in documents
Drop PCX output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
PCX often produces smaller files than TIFF for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
TIFF vs PCX — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
TIFF Strengths
- Lossless by default — no generation loss on successive edits and saves.
- Supports any bit depth (1 to 32 bits per channel), any color model, any number of channels.
- Extensible tag system means vendor-specific data survives alongside standard tags.
- Multi-page containers are perfect for scanned documents, faxes, and DICOM-like stacks.
- Industry-standard for archival, museums, scientific imaging, and high-end print prepress.
Limitations
- File sizes are huge compared to JPEG/WebP/AVIF — often 10-30× larger.
- Not a web format — no browser displays TIFF natively.
- Ambiguous spec areas mean some TIFFs only open correctly in the tool that created them.
PCX Strengths
- Simple format — easy to parse in any language.
- RLE compression keeps flat-color images compact.
- Historic archive format for 1985-1995 PC art.
- Stable since 1985 with no breaking changes.
Limitations
- Legacy — no new content created as PCX in 2026.
- Inefficient for photographs (RLE is wrong algorithm).
- Limited to 24-bit color depth.
TIFF vs PCX — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
TIFF
- MIME type
- image/tiff
- Extensions
- .tif, .tiff
- Standard
- TIFF 6.0 (1992); BigTIFF extension for 64-bit offsets
- Max file size
- 4 GB (TIFF); 2^64 bytes (BigTIFF)
- Compression options
- None, LZW, Deflate, JPEG, CCITT G3/G4, PackBits, JBIG
PCX
- MIME type
- image/x-pcx
- Extension
- .pcx
- Header
- 128 bytes fixed
- Compression
- Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
- Creator
- ZSoft Corporation (1985)
| Specification | TIFF | PCX |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/tiff | image/x-pcx |
| Extensions | .tif, .tiff | — |
| Standard | TIFF 6.0 (1992); BigTIFF extension for 64-bit offsets | — |
| Max file size | 4 GB (TIFF); 2^64 bytes (BigTIFF) | — |
| Compression options | None, LZW, Deflate, JPEG, CCITT G3/G4, PackBits, JBIG | — |
| Extension | — | .pcx |
| Header | — | 128 bytes fixed |
| Compression | — | Run-Length Encoding (RLE) |
| Creator | — | ZSoft Corporation (1985) |
TIFF vs PCX — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
TIFF
- Scanned A4 page (300 dpi, B&W) 100-300 KB
- Scanned A4 page (600 dpi, color) 15-40 MB
- Print-quality magazine photo 30-150 MB
- Satellite GeoTIFF tile 50 MB - 5 GB
PCX
- Simple clipart 2-40 KB
- VGA-era screenshot (320×200) 30-80 KB
- Scanned page 200 KB - 2 MB
Quality & Compatibility
TIFF-to-PCX conversion does not change the visible content. Quality is capped by the TIFF decode; re-encoding a lossy source at high quality cannot recover detail that was already discarded. For archival masters, keep the original TIFF alongside the PCX copy.
Tips for Best Results
- Large TIFF files may look identical to small PCX files for photographic content; pick quality based on end use, not headline megapixels.
- For print, export PCX at 300 DPI minimum and check that the colour profile embedded matches the print shop specification.
- Batch-convert related TIFF images in one pass so they share identical encoder settings and look consistent side-by-side.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the codecs involved. If both TIFF and PCX are lossy, the pixels are re-encoded and a small amount of detail is discarded — invisible at default quality settings on photographs. If PCX is lossless (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded TIFF exactly, but cannot recover detail that TIFF had already compressed away.
Often yes, especially when PCX is lossless. TIFF tuned for efficient web delivery will usually produce smaller files than PCX's default settings. If file size matters, drop the quality in Advanced or pick a more compressed target format instead.
KaijuConverter uploads over HTTPS, processes the image in an isolated container and deletes both the source and the output within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never logged, and we do not use uploads to train any model. For confidential material, the paid plan includes a data-processing agreement.
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Read guideSecure & Private Conversion
Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.