What happens when you convert XPS to TIFF
- Each page of the XPS is drawn by MuPDF, the open-source PDF and XPS renderer, on our conversion server at 150 dpi, so an A4 page becomes about 1240 by 1750 pixels.
- A one-page XPS gives a single TIFF; a longer one comes back as a ZIP file with one TIFF per page, named page-01.tiff, page-02.tiff and so on, for up to 100 pages.
- The TIFF files are compressed losslessly with ZIP compression, which every TIFF reader opens.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert XPS to TIFF online
- Press "Choose XPS files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to TIFF". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each TIFF with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your XPS and the TIFF by then.
Why convert XPS to TIFF?
XPS files usually come from documents printed with the Microsoft XPS Document Writer. People convert them to TIFF because TIFF is the format printers, scanners and archives trust for lossless images.
In short, XPS is good at what it was made for, and TIFF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. XPS does not open in browsers; the XPS Viewer, an optional Windows feature, opens it, while Safari shows TIFF; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it.
How to convert XPS to TIFF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your XPS files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each TIFF is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the XPS files from Finder onto the drop zone and the TIFF files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose XPS files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted TIFF appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose XPS files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The TIFF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for XPS to TIFF
There are no settings: every page is rendered at 150 dpi, the longest side is capped at 6,000 pixels, and at most the first 100 pages are converted.
For a document that must stay sharp at any size, convert to PDF instead.
XPS vs TIFF: the differences
| XPS | TIFF | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | XML Paper Specification | Tagged Image File Format |
| Type | document | image |
| Created by | Microsoft | Aldus Corporation |
| First released | 2006 | 1986 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Vector | Raster |
| Colour | any colour, pages of text, vector shapes and images | up to 32 bits per channel, including CMYK |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; the XPS Viewer, an optional Windows feature, opens it | Safari shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it |
| Common uses | documents printed with the Microsoft XPS Document Writer | print production, scanning, archiving and medical imaging |
| MIME type | application/vnd.ms-xpsdocument | image/tiff |
About XPS and TIFF files
What is an XPS file?
XPS is Microsoft's fixed-layout page format, a ZIP of XML pages, fonts and images, meant as an alternative to PDF. Windows printed to it through the Microsoft XPS Document Writer, but it never caught on, and since 2018 Windows no longer installs its viewer by default.
What is a TIFF file?
TIFF is the format printers and archives trust because it can store uncompressed or losslessly compressed pixels, CMYK colour and several pages in one file. It is also why a single scan can run to 100 MB.
XPS to TIFF not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- "This file is not really in XPS format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .xps is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert XPS to TIFF from the command line
MuPDF does the same on your own computer:
mutool draw -r 150 -o page-%d.png input.xps
magick mogrify -format tiff -compress zip page-*.pngConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
XPS to TIFF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting XPS to TIFF?
150 dpi is sharp for reading on screen and fine for printing text. The pixels are stored losslessly.
Why is the TIFF a different size from the XPS?
Each TIFF holds a full page of pixels, so together they are usually larger than the XPS.
Are my XPS files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful XPS to TIFF conversion needs MuPDF and ImageMagick, two open-source tools, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the TIFF as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several XPS files to TIFF at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a TIFF file?
Safari shows TIFF; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it. TIFF is common for print production, scanning, archiving and medical imaging.
Is this XPS to TIFF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert XPS to TIFF on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the TIFF is saved to your Downloads folder.