# TIFF uncompressed decompressor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813 "2009-04-03T05:05:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/1 "2009-04-03T05:05:25Z")
I just tried to print the cover for my son’s report (due tomorrow, NAF) which he composed on the Mac. All the pictures–and it’s mostly pictures–say, “QuickTime and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.” I don’t want to SEE the picture, I want to PRINT it. And I have QuickTime. And I have Adobe Effects. And I have–I don’t know–a bunch of other stuff. I blame the Mac for this. I hate that thing. The kid loves it. Not so much tonight, though. What do I need to do to print the kid’s report cover? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/2 "2009-04-03T05:19:55Z")
You’re being a bit vague here. What kind of file are you trying to print? What operating system are you on? Is this a Power Point presentation that you’re trying to open in a PC, but was created on a Mac? If so, look [here.](http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00534.htm) It appears that Power Point/Windows doesn’t support Quick Time compression. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/3 "2009-04-03T05:28:13Z")
I don’t know anything specific to this, but it seems worth mentioning that if all the solutions everyone else suggests fail, you can always walk the printer over to the Mac and print from there. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/4 "2009-04-03T05:43:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You’re being a bit vague here. What kind of file are you trying to print? What operating system are you on? Is this a Power Point presentation that you’re trying to open in a PC, but was created on a Mac? > > If so, look [here.](http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00534.htm) It appears that Power Point/Windows doesn’t support Quick Time compression. Oh, sorry. It’s some pictures that were imported into a Word file, done on a Mac. But I’m trying to print it using a PC that’s running XP SP3. Thanks for the link. I’m thinking it might be easier to just go online and find the pictures again and import them into the Word file on the PC. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/5 "2009-04-03T05:48:42Z")
Looks to me like you have to get back to the Mac and place the graphic back in in a format that’s supported by both PC and Mac. [From here.](http://lists.apple.com/archives/quicktime-users/2005/Jun/msg00225.html) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/6 "2009-04-03T07:25:30Z")
If the images are available online that’s your best bet time-wise. I f you have adobe pro on your system you could also try printing the word document as a PDF file then if that works printing the PDF file to the printer. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/7 "2009-04-03T11:47:36Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I don’t want to SEE the picture, I want to PRINT it. As a note, these are basically one and the same. The software has to decode the image to do anything useful with it. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiff-uncompressed-decompressor/491813/8 "2009-04-03T13:21:59Z")
Just have him print it to a PDF and send that to you. And [yes](http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00534.htm), it’s a “Lazy Microsoft” problem.