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domi_nika_
domi_nika_
Participant
July 31, 2025
Answered

Can LZW cause issues in printing?

  • July 31, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 354 views

Hi everyone,

Has anyone here ever been asked by a printing house not to use the LZW TIFF format?

I have to say, LZW compression has always been incredibly useful for me when working with billboard or large banner files, and until a recent request from a print shop, I’d never heard of any issues with using it for print.
I haven’t yet received an explanation from them, so I’ve been digging through forums trying to understand what the potential problems might be. Unfortunately, I’ve found very little—just a few hints suggesting that some RIPs may not fully support LZW, which could lead to major issues when interpreting the file.

If anyone would be willing to share their experience on this topic, I’d really appreciate it.
What exactly causes the issue? Is it something that happens often, or could it just be outdated software on the print shop’s end?
Maybe most printing houses just re-save LZW TIFFs before printing, without informing the designer?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Correct answer Conrad_C

Uncompressed TIFF has always been the most widely supported, although the file sizes can be very large.

 

Recent versions of applications like Photoshop tend to be compatible with more format variations so that different kinds of TIFF compression aren’t a problem, but there are still isolated pockets of hardware and software here and there that can’t handle TIFF with LZW or ZIP compression. In those cases you have to send them uncompressed.

 

For TIFF files that are only for me to work with, I use ZIP compression because the file sizes are smaller than LZW (although the save times are very long). But if I send a TIFF to someone else, I either make sure they can handle ZIP compression or just save an uncompressed copy to send them. 

3 replies

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
July 31, 2025

Uncompressed TIFF has always been the most widely supported, although the file sizes can be very large.

 

Recent versions of applications like Photoshop tend to be compatible with more format variations so that different kinds of TIFF compression aren’t a problem, but there are still isolated pockets of hardware and software here and there that can’t handle TIFF with LZW or ZIP compression. In those cases you have to send them uncompressed.

 

For TIFF files that are only for me to work with, I use ZIP compression because the file sizes are smaller than LZW (although the save times are very long). But if I send a TIFF to someone else, I either make sure they can handle ZIP compression or just save an uncompressed copy to send them. 

    domi_nika_
    domi_nika_Author
    Participant
    August 1, 2025

    Thanks – I’d honestly never have thought that an uncompressed file might be the better option. I got used to saving TIFFs with compression at my last job in a print shop, where that was the recommended approach – and other print shops accepted it too – so it never occurred to me that it might have drawbacks 😄

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 31, 2025

    One thing to be aware of is that LZW was written for 8 bit data and does not work well on 16 bit data - often the file size will actually increase.

     

    Personally I never compress and if a client wants TIFF I send uncompressed TIFFs. The size is their problem.

      domi_nika_
      domi_nika_Author
      Participant
      August 1, 2025

      Thanks! I'm already aware of that, but I imagine some print shops prefer to play it safe – just in case they receive a 16-bit file for some reason.

      Kevin Stohlmeyer
      Community Expert
      Kevin StohlmeyerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 31, 2025

      @domi_nika_ I would agree with your findings and my first thought is their prepress software or RIP cannot process LZW compressed TIF files. Pretty common back in the day, but I rarely send TIF files anymore. Most of our printers for billboards/large format want a reduced scale file in jpg format. Their software handles the upsizing and resolution depending on the application. 

      domi_nika_
      domi_nika_Author
      Participant
      July 31, 2025

      Thanks for the reply!

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