Export Layered TIFF, flattend (OK), quality same as PS?

[Linwood Ferguson]

I realize exporting a TIFF (say as JPG) flattens the image, but HOW does it do it? This has never mattered in the past, but getting some large prints made.

Is it using the embedded (low quality?) JPG that is in the TIFF?

Or is it flattening it as PS would, then exporting that?

More to the point: Is it the same quality (+/- settings chosen) as if I exported in Photoshop?

I've tried both, and nothing jumps out at me as different, but I'm not looking at it 3' wide on my monitor either. The reason I ask is I know there are some limitations inside Lightroom's use of TIFFs, e.g. in compression, and not sure exactly what it does under the covers for exports.

 

[clee01l]

TIFFs have the capability to be multi layered. PSCC will create a TIFF and output each layer as a separate data block. When displayed the layers are composited into one display image layer. When saved to LR, the PSCC TIFF file has these layers preserved. Yet the displayed image is the composite made by combining all of the layers This is true for both PSCC & LR. LR while preserving the multi layered TIFF file as an imported original can only output a single layer TIFF when creating a new (exported) file. This single layer is the same as seen as the composted display image.

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

Thanks, Cletus, I just wanted to make sure it was actually flattening it, and not using an embedded preview image of some sort.

 

[clee01l]

Thanks, Cletus, I just wanted to make sure it was actually flattening it, and not using an embedded preview image of some sort.

You can open the TIFF File with some EXIF Viewer (Like PhotoMe) that will describe each data block. There might even be a full size composite data block included.

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

You can open the TIFF File with some EXIF Viewer (Like PhotoMe) that will describe each data block. There might even be a full size composite data block included.

Looks like a cool program, tried beta and released versions on windows 10x64 and both crash as soon as I hit open.

But i'm not quite sure of your point -- I think the Tiff has an embedded preview. My question was just to make sure that LR, when doing the export, was actually capable of flattening the layers itself, and not rendering from some embedded preview.

 

[clee01l]

But i'm not quite sure of your point -- I think the Tiff has an embedded preview. My question was just to make sure that LR, when doing the export, was actually capable of flattening the layers itself, and not rendering from some embedded preview.

I think my point is that in a Layered TIFF, one of the layers might be the composite of all of the other layers. I can't verify this, and PhotoMe only works for Windows and I haven't used Windows regularly since Win 8

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

Hmmm... that's an interesting thought. If it's a real flattening, i.e. rendered the same was as the TIFF (color space, resolution, etc.) that's fine. I was wondering if it might be a JPG preview which would be poor quality. But I think I would see that if so, and I'm not seeing it in experimenting.

I guess the safe thing is to render in photoshop not lightroom, then I will be very sure rather than almost sure.