When you digitize records, the file format you choose is a long-term decision. Scan to the wrong format and your images may become hard to open in a decade (format obsolescence); choose well and they stay usable for the life of the record.
What makes a format preservation-friendly
The Library of Congress, which maintains widely used guidance on format sustainability, points to factors like:
- Openness / documentation — open, well-documented formats outlast proprietary ones.
- Wide adoption — broadly supported formats are more likely to remain readable.
- Stability — formats that don’t change constantly are safer.
- Self-documentation — formats that carry their own technical metadata.
- No (or optional) compression / encryption for the preservation master.
Common choices
- TIFF (uncompressed) — a long-standing preservation master format for images: open, stable, lossless. Large files, but reliable.
- PDF/A — an ISO-standardized, archival profile of PDF designed for long-term preservation of documents; good for multi-page text documents and often paired with OCR.
- JPEG / JPEG 2000 — useful as access (derivative) copies for delivery; JPEG’s lossy compression makes plain JPEG a poor master.
The master / derivative pattern
A common, robust approach is to keep two versions: a preservation master in a high-quality, sustainable format (e.g., uncompressed TIFF or PDF/A) that you protect and rarely touch, plus smaller access derivatives (e.g., JPEG or compressed PDF) for everyday viewing and delivery. The master guards long-term integrity; the derivative serves convenience.
Don’t forget the rest
Format is necessary but not sufficient. A preservation-ready digitized record also needs adequate metadata, fixity checks to detect corruption, and resolution/quality meeting a recognized standard like FADGI.
The takeaway
Choose open, stable, well-supported formats for masters, keep lighter derivatives for access, and pair both with metadata and fixity. That’s how digitized records survive the technology changes ahead. See the digitization and imaging hub for more.
Sources & further reading
Authoritative government and non-profit references.
- Sustainability of Digital Formats — Library of Congress
- Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) — FADGI (U.S. federal agencies)
How to cite this page
APA
RM University Editorial Team. (2026). Imaging Formats for Preservation. Records Management University. https://www.recordsmgmt.org/articles/imaging-formats-for-preservation/
MLA
RM University Editorial Team. "Imaging Formats for Preservation." Records Management University, 16 June 2026, www.recordsmgmt.org/articles/imaging-formats-for-preservation/.