Image MIME Reference
FastBid
FastBid Sheet
image/vnd.fastbidsheet
VS
Tagged Image File Format (Legacy MIME)
image/x-tiff
TIFF
A complete technical comparison of FastBid Sheet 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 | FastBid | 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 |
FastBid Sheet
image/vnd.fastbidsheet
Extension
.fbs
Container
Proprietary FastBid Container
Compression
Proprietary
Algorithm
Unknown
Color Depth
Unknown
Developed by
FastBid, Inc. (Scott Becker)
Released
Late 1990s
Magic Bytes
Unknown (Proprietary)
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)
Browser Support Comparison
| Browser | FastBid | TIFF |
|---|---|---|
Chrome
|
✕ | ✕ |
Firefox
|
✕ | ✕ |
Safari
|
✕ | ✕ |
Edge
|
✕ | ✕ |
IE (Legacy)
|
✕ | ✕ |
FastBid
FastBid Strengths
- Historically allowed the FastBid application to securely associate and load proprietary construction plans within its ecosystem
Limitations
- Completely obsolete and unsupported in modern software environments
- The official IANA registration of the .fbs extension causes widespread false positives, breaking modern parsers, text editors, and AI SDKs attempting to read FlatBuffers schemas
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
FastBid
Use FastBid when…
- Legacy Construction Blueprints
- FastBid Estimating Software
- Causing .fbs MIME Type Conflicts (FlatBuffers)
TIFF
Use TIFF when…
- Professional Print and Desktop Publishing
- High-Resolution Archival Scanning
- Master Copies of Digital Photography