TIFF
A flexible, usually lossless raster format widely used for master files, scanning and print submission.
Measured in
MB
In depth
TIFF supports 8- and 16-bit channels, layers, embedded profiles and either no compression or lossless LZW and ZIP schemes. Its flexibility is also its weakness — the specification permits so many variations that some readers cannot open every valid TIFF. Files are large, which is exactly the point for a master.
Examples in practice
A 16-bit TIFF from a 45-megapixel file runs to about 260 MB, and prints identically a decade later.