One of the most widespread formats used to represent high quality image data is the TIF format. TIFF is a well-known, established, flexible, adaptable file format for handling images and data within a single file. The flexibility of TIFF allows for many different variants and can also include metadata, which follows other format definitions such as IPTC-data, EXIF-data or ICC-data for color transformation. Therefore TIFF is a complex file format that can be problematic for the use in archives, even though it is still the most common option for most GLAM institutions. The aim of the TI/A initiative was to find a proper subset of tags for the use of TIFF in archival environments. To select proper features in such a recommendation, it was necessary to analyses existing files first. In this paper we present the results of two surveys that have been done in this context: A) The analysis of about 4 million TIFF files stored as digital assets in memory institutions. The files represent a large variety of TIFF formats, regarding e.g. compression schemes, quantization depth and date of creation. B) A survey about the number, use and relevance of digital files in archives, museums and libraries. The survey was done in the context of an ongoing project of the Swiss government to find a sustainable strategy for archiving digital cultural heritage objects.