We've already sent Polly some information, but for the benefit of anyone
else looking into this:
As there still doesn't seem to be a unanimous or clear answer as to
whether JPEG2000 is as safe/better alternative to TIFF, TIFF still seems
to be the more familiar format that attracts a higher confidence level
within the Digital Preservation community. At present, JPEG2000's
benefits appear to be minor, and with fewer tools to support it. A
commonly cited limitation of JPEG2000 is that "the standard is not yet
widely in use and there is as yet no native support for it in internet
browsers". This recent article shows some of the benefits for remaining
with TIFF:
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november09/kulovits/11kulovits.html
If you're key project driver is 'long-term backup'/preservation, most
evidence also lends itself in support of TIFF being a more appropriate
choice. Conversely, JPEG2000 has been noted for some pragmatic storage
and access benefits. It can potentially support some unique project
requirements for image repositories eg some large institutions have
recently made the move to JPEG2000; the Wellcome Library being one
http://wellcomelibrary.blogspot.com/2009/09/wellcome-library-to-use-jpeg
2000-image.html
Some sources that might be helpful to consult before making a final
decision are:
- DPC Technology Watch report on this:
http://www.dpconline.org/technology-watch-reports/view-document/87-jpeg-
2000-a-practical-digital-preservation-standard.html?format=raw&tmpl=comp
onent See page 20
- http://www.dpconline.org/newsroom/jpeg-2000.html
- DCC forum comments on this issue are at:
http://forum.dcc.ac.uk/search.php?t=253
Key considerations for selecting future-proof file formats include:
standards, popularity and ubiquity, stability and expected lifetime,
metadata support, feature set, interoperability; and for migration,
confidence in authenticity, processability of formats, and presentation
of content.
Kind regards
Joanne
Joanne Anthony
Digital Archivist / Digitisation Operations Manager
http://www.ulcc.ac.uk/digitisation.html
Digital Archives Department
http://www.ulcc.ac.uk/digital-preservation/products-services.html
University of London Computer Centre (ULCC)
Senate House
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HU
http://www.ulcc.ac.uk/
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7863 1353
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7863 1301
-----Original Message-----
From: Archivists, conservators and records managers.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Polly Parry
Sent: 25 January 2010 10:02
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: TIFF or JPEG2000?
Dear all
We are about to launch on a large digitisation project and at the
eleventh hour an issue has come up over which format we should be using.
The primary purpose of the project is to provide long term backup
copies, although obviously once we have the images we can look at
additional functionality.
My question, therefore, is whether TIFF is still the best format for
long term preservation (this is our current position), or whether
JPEG2000 would be a better option.
Any thoughts that people have on this today (this morning would be even
better), as my timeframe is quite tight, would be much appreciated!
thanks
Polly
Polly Parry
Museum Archivist & Records Manager
Natural History Museum
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