For a preservation-oriented image archive, keep a verifiable source image and create compressed delivery derivatives from it when future crops, reprocessing, review, or fidelity may matter. Compressing a master is not automatically unsafe: the right choice depends on whether the method preserves the fidelity your archive requires and whether you can recover or migrate the files later. In Go, inspect image dimensions with image.DecodeConfig before fully decoding untrusted inputs.
Should you compress originals or only derivatives?
Separate the role of the retained source from the role of files made for display or delivery. FADGI describes derivatives as secondary products optimized for particular uses; access derivatives commonly use lossy compression. That makes a derivative a suitable place to prioritize smaller files, while retaining the best available source gives you a starting point for new crops, sizes, or processing later.
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There is no universal rule that masters must never be compressed. FADGI’s 2023 guidance says, “Compression may be appropriate for both master and derivative files.” The choice depends on storage needs, intended application, and the fidelity required by the collection. These are general digitization guidelines, not binding rules for every archive. FADGI Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials, 3rd ed. (2023)
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What kind of compression are you applying?
“Compression” can describe different operations. Lossless compression can reduce storage while preserving the decoded image; lossy re-encoding discards image information to make a smaller file. Re-encoding may also change metadata, color information, or format. Container or archive compression, by contrast, may wrap existing file bytes without changing the image encoding inside.
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If exact visual fidelity is important, NARA recommends a lossless scheme and cautions that proprietary compression methods can complicate future migration or recovery. Its report dates to June 2004, so treat it as archival guidance rather than a statement about every modern format or tool. NARA, Digital-Imaging and Optical Digital Data Disk Storage Systems
Choose a policy for masters and derivatives
Keep the source and compress delivery derivatives
Use this approach when you may need to make new crops, alter display sizes or color handling, check a submitted image, or return to the highest-fidelity input available. Generate delivery variants from the retained source and identify them as derivatives, rather than allowing a small access file to become the only surviving copy.
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Compress a master losslessly
This can be reasonable when it saves storage without sacrificing required fidelity and the format can be decoded and managed over the archive’s intended lifetime. Keep format documentation and a recovery or migration path, especially when the encoding or tooling is proprietary. The 2016 FADGI production-master guidance and the 2023 FADGI guidelines provide context for archival image practices; neither should be treated as a universal technical mandate. FADGI Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Federal Records: Creating Production Master Files — Raster Images (2016)
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Retain a lossy-compressed master only by explicit policy
A lossy master may be an accepted choice if the retained input is already a delivery asset or the organization knowingly accepts irreversible information loss and the resulting limits on fidelity. Document what was retained and why. This is a policy choice inferred from archival guidance, not a universal FADGI rule.
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How to make the decision
- Fidelity: Decide whether the archive must preserve the exact appearance or whether some loss is acceptable.
- Future use: Consider whether later editing, recropping, color adjustments, or new delivery sizes are likely.
- Recoverability: Check whether the format is documented and whether future systems can decode or migrate it.
- Storage and application: Balance storage capacity and cost against the file’s intended use; FADGI identifies both storage and application as relevant to compression decisions.
- Repeatability: Specify whether processing can be repeated consistently and which source file each derivative came from.
Make the policy explicit about whether a workflow compresses file bytes, applies lossless image compression, or re-encodes pixels with a lossy method. Keep source and derivative identities clear, and document the transformation and compression policy. The cited guidance does not prescribe one universal metadata, checksum, or backup architecture, so define those controls to meet the collection’s requirements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should Go handle compressed image inputs?
A small compressed image can expand into a very large pixel buffer when decoded. The Go security guidance recommends checking dimensions with image.DecodeConfig before calling image.Decode on untrusted images. DecodeConfig reads image configuration from the header without allocating a full-size pixel buffer, making it useful for applying limits first. The Go Project: Go Security Decisions — Large Images · The Go Project: Package image
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- Read configuration first: Call
image.DecodeConfigon the input and handle errors before full decoding. - Apply your own limits: Check width, height, and total pixels against limits chosen for your application and available resources. Go’s guidance identifies the need to inspect dimensions; it does not set a universal maximum.
- Reject oversized inputs before full decode: If a file exceeds your policy, stop processing it rather than calling
image.Decode. - Decode only accepted inputs: Once the dimensions pass your checks, proceed with full decoding and the relevant archive or derivative workflow.
This is a resource-control boundary, not an archival-compression rule: Go’s documentation addresses the cost and safety of decoding images, while preservation policy determines what the archive retains.
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