Free webp to jpg
EN
Image MIME Reference
BTIF

Bank Telecommunications Image Format

image/prs.btif
VS

Tagged Image File Format (Legacy MIME)

image/x-tiff
TIFF

A complete technical comparison of Bank Telecommunications Image Format and Tagged Image File Format (Legacy MIME) — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature BTIF TIFF
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
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)
Full BTIF reference →
Tagged Image File Format (Legacy MIME)
image/x-tiff
Extension
.tiff.tif
Container IFD (Image File Directory) Tag Structure
Compression Uncompressed / LZW (Lossless) / ZIP / Deflate (Lossless) / PackBits (Lossless RLE) / JPEG (Lossy) / CCITT Group 3/4 (Fax/Document)
Algorithm
NoneLZWDeflatePackBitsJPEGCCITT
Color Depth 1-bit (Monochrome), 8-bit (Grayscale or Indexed), 16-bit (Per Channel), 32-bit (Float Per Channel)
Developed by Aldus Corporation (Later acquired by Adobe Systems)
Released 1986
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00 (Little-endian) or 4D 4D 00 2A (Big-endian)
Full TIFF reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser BTIF TIFF
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE 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
TIFF

TIFF Strengths

  • Universally accepted as the gold standard for high-fidelity archival and professional print workflows
  • Highly adaptable structure supports multiple pages (documents), layers, vast bit depths, and diverse compression algorithms within a single file
  • Unmatched support for rich metadata including EXIF, IPTC, XMP, and custom ICC color profiles
Limitations
  • Produces exceptionally large file sizes compared to modern web formats
  • The 'x-tiff' legacy MIME string forces developers to write extra validation logic to prevent strict security filters from rejecting valid uploads
  • The format's immense complexity means that many lightweight parsers only implement a subset of the specification, sometimes failing to read obscure compressions (like CCITT or old JPEG-in-TIFF)

When to choose which format

BTIF
Use BTIF when…
  • Bank Check Archiving (Legacy)
  • Financial Transaction Records
TIFF
Use TIFF when…
  • Professional Print and Desktop Publishing
  • High-Resolution Archival Scanning
  • Master Copies of Digital Photography

More comparisons

BTIF vs ACES → TIFF vs ACES → BTIF vs APNG → TIFF vs APNG → BTIF vs AVCI → TIFF vs AVCI → BTIF vs AVCS → TIFF vs AVCS → BTIF vs AVIF → TIFF vs AVIF → All comparisons →
Share this comparison