Image MIME Reference
BTIF
Bank Telecommunications Image Format
image/prs.btif
VS
Digital Camera Raw (Generic Linux MIME)
image/x-dcraw
Generic-RAW
A complete technical comparison of Bank Telecommunications Image Format and Digital Camera Raw (Generic Linux MIME) — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.
Equal browser support
Feature Support
| Feature | BTIF | Generic-RAW |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency (Alpha) | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Animation Support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Progressive Loading | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HDR Support | ✕ No | Yes |
| EXIF Metadata | ✕ No | Yes |
| ICC Color Profile | ✕ No | Yes |
Bank Telecommunications Image Format
image/prs.btif
Extension
.btif.btf
Container
Proprietary Check Image Container
Compression
Lossy (JPEG-based) / Lossless (TIFF-based)
Algorithm
JPEGTIFF-variant
Color Depth
1-bit (B&W), 8-bit (Grayscale)
Developed by
NationsBank (Bank of America) / Ben Simon
Released
1998
Magic Bytes
Unknown (Proprietary container)
Digital Camera Raw (Generic Linux MIME)
image/x-dcraw
Extension
.raw
Container
Varies (Predominantly TIFF/EP)
Compression
Lossless / Uncompressed
Algorithm
Varies (Often Lossless JPEG ITU-T81 or uncompressed)
Color Depth
12-bit, 14-bit, 16-bit
Developed by
freedesktop.org (MIME mapping) / Dave Coffin (dcraw tool)
Released
1997
Magic Bytes
Varies by vendor format
Browser Support Comparison
| Browser | BTIF | Generic-RAW |
|---|---|---|
Chrome
|
✕ | ✕ |
Firefox
|
✕ | ✕ |
Safari
|
✕ | ✕ |
Edge
|
✕ | ✕ |
IE (Legacy)
|
✕ | ✕ |
BTIF
BTIF Strengths
- Allowed early digital archiving and web-based transmission of cleared bank checks
- Encapsulated both image data and ASCII transaction metadata in a single file
Limitations
- Completely proprietary and obsolete format
- Lacks native support in modern operating systems and image viewers
- Requires legacy plugins or specialized bio-format readers (like ImageC) to decode
Generic-RAW
Generic-RAW Strengths
- Provides a unified, highly useful catch-all MIME type for application developers who just need to know if a file is a raw image, rather than tracking 50+ individual camera extensions
- Deeply integrated into the Linux desktop ecosystem, ensuring file manager thumbnails work seamlessly via tools like ufraw-thumbnailer
Limitations
- Not an official IANA standard
- Can cause conflicts where standard TIFF files are misidentified as raw camera data by over-aggressive MIME sniffers
- The underlying 'dcraw' tool was abandoned by its creator in 2018 (though its successor, LibRaw, continues to maintain the ecosystem)
When to choose which format
BTIF
Use BTIF when…
- Bank Check Archiving (Legacy)
- Financial Transaction Records
Generic-RAW
Use Generic-RAW when…
- Linux Desktop File Associations (GNOME/KDE)
- Thumbnail Generation for Raw Images (UFRaw/LibRaw)
- Server-side Image Processing Fallbacks