TIFF is a flexible bitmap image format supported by virtually all painting, image-editing, and page-layout applications. Also, virtually all desktop scanners can produce TIFF images.

The TIFF format supports CMYK, RGB, grayscale, Lab, indexed-color, and bitmap files with alpha and spot-color channels. You can select an alpha channel when you place a TIFF file. Spot-color channels appear in InDesign as spot colors in the Swatches panel.

You can use an image-editing program such as Photoshop to create a clipping path to create a transparent background for a TIFF image. InDesign supports clipping paths in TIFF images and recognizes encoded OPI comments.