Export Animations as Multi-Page TIFF in GIMP

Exporting animations as multi-page TIFF files in GIMP allows you to store each frame of your animation as an individual page within a single document. This step-by-step guide explains how to prepare your animation layers in GIMP and configure the correct export settings to generate a functional multi-page TIFF file quickly and efficiently.

Step 1: Prepare Your Animation Frames as Layers

1. Open your project or import your animation frames into GIMP.
2. Ensure that each frame of your animation exists on its own individual layer in the Layers panel (Ctrl + L or Cmd + L).
3. Organize the layer order: GIMP treats layers from the bottom up as the chronological sequence of pages (the bottom layer represents Page 1, the layer above it represents Page 2, and so on).

Step 2: Open the Export Dialog

1. Navigate to the top menu and select File > Export As... (or press Shift + Ctrl + E).
2. Choose your destination folder.
3. In the Name field at the top, name your file and add the .tiff or .tif extension (e.g., animation.tiff). Alternatively, expand the Select File Type (By Extension) menu at the bottom and choose TIFF image.
4. Click Export.

Step 3: Configure Multi-Page TIFF Settings

1. In the Export Image as TIFF pop-up window, locate the layer/page settings.
2. Select your preferred Compression algorithm (e.g., None, LZW, or Deflate/ZIP) to manage file size without losing image quality.
3. Ensure that options which flatten the image are unchecked, allowing GIMP to write every visible layer as a separate page.
4. Click Export to finalize and generate the multi-page TIFF file.

Step 4: Verify the Exported File

To ensure the animation exported correctly as a multi-page document:

• Reopen the .tiff file in GIMP; a prompt will ask if you want to open pages as layers. Choose Open pages as layers to inspect the sequence.
• Alternatively, open the file in a standard document or image viewer that supports multi-page TIFFs to page through your animation frames.