How to read TIFF images in Java

In this article, I will explain how to read Tiff files in Java. We also have a related article covering how to write TIFF files in Java.

ImageIO does not read TIFF file types by default so you will need to use an ImageIO plugin or an external library. I will demonstrate using an Open source ImageIO plugin called TwelveMonkeys (which extends ImageIO to provide TIFF reading support), and using the JDeli Image Library.

What is TIFF?

TIFF stands for “Tag Image File Format”. It is a complex file format for storing one or more bitmapped images in multiple colourspaces using several different forms of compression. The file name extension for TIFF files is: .tif, .tiff

If you are just looking for a TIFF Viewer, JDeli includes a built-in Image Viewer.

How to read a TIFF image in Java with ImageIO

Step 1 Download TwelveMonkeys plugin and add to your class path.
Step 2 Create a File handle, InputStream, or URL pointing to the raw TIFF image.
Step 3 ImageIO will now be able to read a TIFF file into a BufferedImage.

BufferedImage image = ImageIO.read(tiffFileOrInputStreamOrURL)

How to read a TIFF image in Java with JDeli

Step 1 Add JDeli to your class or module path. (download the trial jar).
Step 2 Create a File handle, InputStream pointing to the raw TIFF image. You can also use a byte[] containing the image data.
Step 3 Read the TIFF image into a BufferedImage

BufferedImage image = JDeli.read(tiffFile);

How to read a multi-file TIFF image in Java with JDeli

Step 1 Add JDeli to your class or module path. (download the trial jar).
Step 2 Create a File handle, InputStream pointing to the raw TIFF image. You can also use a byte[] containing the image data.
Step 3 Read the TIFF file into a TiffDecoder instance

RandomAccessFile raf = new RandomAccessFile("yourTiffFileLocation", "r");
TiffDecoder decoder = new TiffDecoder(raf);

Step 4 Loop through the separate images in the TIFF file

for (int i = 1; i <= decoder.getPageCount(); i++) {
BufferedImage decodedImage = decoder.read(i);
  // Insert BufferedImage handling code here
}
raf.close();

Why use JDeli to read TIFF?

JDeli offers a range of advantages over ImageIO and alternatives, including:

• prevents heap related JVM crashes
• reads 1-32 bit bilevel, grayscale, rgb, argb, cmyk, acmyk, ycbcr Colorspaces, and converts to sRGB BufferedImage
• implements both Little and Big Endian Byte Ordering
• decompresses uncompressed, CCITT group 3 and 4, Deflate/Adobe Deflate, LZW, Packbits
• support for Single, Multi-file, Tiling, Planar (Chunky, Separated), Predictor, 16,32 bit floating samples
• improve read performance
• supports threading
• superior image scaling algorithms

Download your JDeli guide:

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Start reading and writing images with one line of code

Read: BufferedImage image = JDeli.read(streamOrFile);

Write: JDeli.write(myBufferedImage, OutputFormat.HEIC, outputStreamOrFile)

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