diff --git a/src/drawer.js b/src/drawer.js
index a0dd58ef..2ce83584 100644
--- a/src/drawer.js
+++ b/src/drawer.js
@@ -347,15 +347,16 @@ $.Drawer.prototype = {
      * @param {Boolean} [shouldRoundPositionAndSize] - Tells whether to round
      * position and size of tiles supporting alpha channel in non-transparency
      * context.
+     * @param {OpenSeadragon.TileSource} source - The source specification of the tile.
      */
-    drawTile: function(tile, drawingHandler, useSketch, scale, translate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize) {
+    drawTile: function( tile, drawingHandler, useSketch, scale, translate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize, source) {
         $.console.assert(tile, '[Drawer.drawTile] tile is required');
         $.console.assert(drawingHandler, '[Drawer.drawTile] drawingHandler is required');
 
         if (this.useCanvas) {
             var context = this._getContext(useSketch);
             scale = scale || 1;
-            tile.drawCanvas(context, drawingHandler, scale, translate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize);
+            tile.drawCanvas(context, drawingHandler, scale, translate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize, source);
         } else {
             tile.drawHTML( this.canvas );
         }
diff --git a/src/imageloader.js b/src/imageloader.js
index db9fc366..91d33b50 100644
--- a/src/imageloader.js
+++ b/src/imageloader.js
@@ -35,21 +35,23 @@
 (function($){
 
 /**
- * @private
  * @class ImageJob
  * @classdesc Handles downloading of a single image.
  * @param {Object} options - Options for this ImageJob.
  * @param {String} [options.src] - URL of image to download.
+ * @param {Tile} [options.tile] - Tile that belongs the data to.
+ * @param {TileSource} [options.source] - Image loading strategy
  * @param {String} [options.loadWithAjax] - Whether to load this image with AJAX.
  * @param {String} [options.ajaxHeaders] - Headers to add to the image request if using AJAX.
+ * @param {Boolean} [options.ajaxWithCredentials] - Whether to set withCredentials on AJAX requests.
  * @param {String} [options.crossOriginPolicy] - CORS policy to use for downloads
  * @param {String} [options.postData] - HTTP POST data (usually but not necessarily in k=v&k2=v2... form,
- *      see TileSrouce::getPostData) or null
+ *      see TileSource::getPostData) or null
  * @param {Function} [options.callback] - Called once image has been downloaded.
  * @param {Function} [options.abort] - Called when this image job is aborted.
  * @param {Number} [options.timeout] - The max number of milliseconds that this image job may take to complete.
  */
-function ImageJob (options) {
+$.ImageJob = function(options) {
 
     $.extend(true, this, {
         timeout: $.DEFAULT_SETTINGS.timeout,
@@ -57,107 +59,61 @@ function ImageJob (options) {
     }, options);
 
     /**
-     * Image object which will contain downloaded image.
-     * @member {Image} image
+     * Data object which will contain downloaded image data.
+     * @member {Image|*} image data object, by default an Image object (depends on TileSource)
      * @memberof OpenSeadragon.ImageJob#
      */
-    this.image = null;
-}
+    this.data = null;
 
-ImageJob.prototype = {
-    errorMsg: null,
+    /**
+     * User workspace to populate with helper variables
+     * @member {*} userData to append custom data and avoid namespace collision
+     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.ImageJob#
+     */
+    this.userData = {};
 
+    /**
+     * Error message holder
+     * @member {string} error message
+     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.ImageJob#
+     * @private
+     */
+    this.errorMsg = null;
+};
+
+$.ImageJob.prototype = {
     /**
      * Starts the image job.
      * @method
      */
-    start: function(){
+    start: function() {
         var self = this;
         var selfAbort = this.abort;
 
-        this.image = new Image();
-
-        this.image.onload = function(){
-            self.finish(true);
-        };
-        this.image.onabort = this.image.onerror = function() {
-            self.errorMsg = "Image load aborted";
-            self.finish(false);
-        };
-
-        this.jobId = window.setTimeout(function(){
-            self.errorMsg = "Image load exceeded timeout (" + self.timeout + " ms)";
-            self.finish(false);
+        this.jobId = window.setTimeout(function () {
+            self.finish(null, null, "Image load exceeded timeout (" + self.timeout + " ms)");
         }, this.timeout);
 
-        // Load the tile with an AJAX request if the loadWithAjax option is
-        // set. Otherwise load the image by setting the source proprety of the image object.
-        if (this.loadWithAjax) {
-            this.request = $.makeAjaxRequest({
-                url: this.src,
-                withCredentials: this.ajaxWithCredentials,
-                headers: this.ajaxHeaders,
-                responseType: "arraybuffer",
-                postData: this.postData,
-                success: function(request) {
-                    var blb;
-                    // Make the raw data into a blob.
-                    // BlobBuilder fallback adapted from
-                    // http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15293694/blob-constructor-browser-compatibility
-                    try {
-                        blb = new window.Blob([request.response]);
-                    } catch (e) {
-                        var BlobBuilder = (
-                            window.BlobBuilder ||
-                            window.WebKitBlobBuilder ||
-                            window.MozBlobBuilder ||
-                            window.MSBlobBuilder
-                        );
-                        if (e.name === 'TypeError' && BlobBuilder) {
-                            var bb = new BlobBuilder();
-                            bb.append(request.response);
-                            blb = bb.getBlob();
-                        }
-                    }
-                    // If the blob is empty for some reason consider the image load a failure.
-                    if (blb.size === 0) {
-                        self.errorMsg = "Empty image response.";
-                        self.finish(false);
-                    }
-                    // Create a URL for the blob data and make it the source of the image object.
-                    // This will still trigger Image.onload to indicate a successful tile load.
-                    var url = (window.URL || window.webkitURL).createObjectURL(blb);
-                    self.image.src = url;
-                },
-                error: function(request) {
-                    self.errorMsg = "Image load aborted - XHR error: Ajax returned " + request.status;
-                    self.finish(false);
-                }
-            });
-
-            // Provide a function to properly abort the request.
-            this.abort = function() {
-                self.request.abort();
-
-                // Call the existing abort function if available
-                if (typeof selfAbort === "function") {
-                    selfAbort();
-                }
-            };
-        } else {
-            if (this.crossOriginPolicy !== false) {
-                this.image.crossOrigin = this.crossOriginPolicy;
+        this.abort = function() {
+            self.source.downloadTileAbort(self);
+            if (typeof selfAbort === "function") {
+                selfAbort();
             }
+        };
 
-            this.image.src = this.src;
-        }
+        this.source.downloadTileStart(this);
     },
 
-    finish: function(successful) {
-        this.image.onload = this.image.onerror = this.image.onabort = null;
-        if (!successful) {
-            this.image = null;
-        }
+    /**
+     * Finish this job.
+     * @param {*} data data that has been downloaded
+     * @param {XMLHttpRequest} request reference to the request if used
+     * @param {string} errorMessage description upon failure
+     */
+    finish: function(data, request, errorMessage ) {
+        this.data = data;
+        this.request = request;
+        this.errorMsg = errorMessage;
 
         if (this.jobId) {
             window.clearTimeout(this.jobId);
@@ -165,7 +121,6 @@ ImageJob.prototype = {
 
         this.callback(this);
     }
-
 };
 
 /**
@@ -196,23 +151,38 @@ $.ImageLoader.prototype = {
      * @method
      * @param {Object} options - Options for this job.
      * @param {String} [options.src] - URL of image to download.
+     * @param {Tile} [options.tile] - Tile that belongs the data to. The tile instance
+     *      is not internally used and serves for custom TileSources implementations.
+     * @param {TileSource} [options.source] - Image loading strategy
      * @param {String} [options.loadWithAjax] - Whether to load this image with AJAX.
      * @param {String} [options.ajaxHeaders] - Headers to add to the image request if using AJAX.
      * @param {String|Boolean} [options.crossOriginPolicy] - CORS policy to use for downloads
      * @param {String} [options.postData] - POST parameters (usually but not necessarily in k=v&k2=v2... form,
-     *      see TileSrouce::getPostData) or null
+     *      see TileSource::getPostData) or null
      * @param {Boolean} [options.ajaxWithCredentials] - Whether to set withCredentials on AJAX
      *      requests.
      * @param {Function} [options.callback] - Called once image has been downloaded.
      * @param {Function} [options.abort] - Called when this image job is aborted.
      */
     addJob: function(options) {
+        if (!options.source) {
+            $.console.error('ImageLoader.prototype.addJob() requires [options.source]. ' +
+                'TileSource since new API defines how images are fetched. Creating a dummy TileSource.');
+            var implementation = $.TileSource.prototype;
+            options.source = {
+                downloadTileStart: implementation.downloadTileStart,
+                downloadTileAbort: implementation.downloadTileAbort
+            };
+        }
+
         var _this = this,
             complete = function(job) {
                 completeJob(_this, job, options.callback);
             },
             jobOptions = {
                 src: options.src,
+                tile: options.tile || {},
+                source: options.source,
                 loadWithAjax: options.loadWithAjax,
                 ajaxHeaders: options.loadWithAjax ? options.ajaxHeaders : null,
                 crossOriginPolicy: options.crossOriginPolicy,
@@ -222,7 +192,7 @@ $.ImageLoader.prototype = {
                 abort: options.abort,
                 timeout: this.timeout
             },
-            newJob = new ImageJob(jobOptions);
+            newJob = new $.ImageJob(jobOptions);
 
         if ( !this.jobLimit || this.jobsInProgress < this.jobLimit ) {
             newJob.start();
@@ -268,7 +238,7 @@ function completeJob(loader, job, callback) {
         loader.jobsInProgress++;
     }
 
-    callback(job.image, job.errorMsg, job.request);
+    callback(job.data, job.errorMsg, job.request);
 }
 
 }(OpenSeadragon));
diff --git a/src/openseadragon.js b/src/openseadragon.js
index 9cd6ad9f..fded2a1c 100644
--- a/src/openseadragon.js
+++ b/src/openseadragon.js
@@ -2327,7 +2327,7 @@ function OpenSeadragon( options ){
          * @param {Object} options.headers - headers to add to the AJAX request
          * @param {String} options.responseType - the response type of the AJAX request
          * @param {String} options.postData - HTTP POST data (usually but not necessarily in k=v&k2=v2... form,
-         *      see TileSrouce::getPostData), GET method used if null
+         *      see TileSource::getPostData), GET method used if null
          * @param {Boolean} [options.withCredentials=false] - whether to set the XHR's withCredentials
          * @throws {Error}
          * @returns {XMLHttpRequest}
diff --git a/src/tile.js b/src/tile.js
index fc3fe57f..b41aa9e9 100644
--- a/src/tile.js
+++ b/src/tile.js
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@
  *      drawing operation, in pixels. Note that this only works when drawing with canvas; when drawing
  *      with HTML the entire tile is always used.
  * @param {String} postData HTTP POST data (usually but not necessarily in k=v&k2=v2... form,
- *      see TileSrouce::getPostData) or null
+ *      see TileSource::getPostData) or null
  * @param {String} cacheKey key to act as a tile cache, must be unique for tiles with unique image data
  */
 $.Tile = function(level, x, y, bounds, exists, url, context2D, loadWithAjax, ajaxHeaders, sourceBounds, postData, cacheKey) {
@@ -82,11 +82,11 @@ $.Tile = function(level, x, y, bounds, exists, url, context2D, loadWithAjax, aja
      */
     this.bounds  = bounds;
     /**
-    * The portion of the tile to use as the source of the drawing operation, in pixels. Note that
-    * this only works when drawing with canvas; when drawing with HTML the entire tile is always used.
-    * @member {OpenSeadragon.Rect} sourceBounds
-    * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
-    */
+     * The portion of the tile to use as the source of the drawing operation, in pixels. Note that
+     * this only works when drawing with canvas; when drawing with HTML the entire tile is always used.
+     * @member {OpenSeadragon.Rect} sourceBounds
+     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
+     */
     this.sourceBounds = sourceBounds;
     /**
      * Is this tile a part of a sparse image? Also has this tile failed to load?
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ $.Tile = function(level, x, y, bounds, exists, url, context2D, loadWithAjax, aja
      * Post parameters for this tile. For example, it can be an URL-encoded string
      * in k1=v1&k2=v2... format, or a JSON, or a FormData instance... or null if no POST request used
      * @member {String} postData HTTP POST data (usually but not necessarily in k=v&k2=v2... form,
-     *      see TileSrouce::getPostData) or null
+     *      see TileSource::getPostData) or null
      * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
      */
     this.postData  = postData;
@@ -127,18 +127,18 @@ $.Tile = function(level, x, y, bounds, exists, url, context2D, loadWithAjax, aja
      * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
      */
     this.ajaxHeaders = ajaxHeaders;
-    /**
-     * The unique cache key for this tile.
-     * @member {String} cacheKey
-     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
-     */
+
     if (cacheKey === undefined) {
         $.console.error("Tile constructor needs 'cacheKey' variable: creation tile cache" +
             " in Tile class is deprecated. TileSource.prototype.getTileHashKey will be used.");
         cacheKey = $.TileSource.prototype.getTileHashKey(level, x, y, url, ajaxHeaders, postData);
     }
+    /**
+     * The unique cache key for this tile.
+     * @member {String} cacheKey
+     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
+     */
     this.cacheKey = cacheKey;
-
     /**
      * Is this tile loaded?
      * @member {Boolean} loaded
@@ -164,12 +164,6 @@ $.Tile = function(level, x, y, bounds, exists, url, context2D, loadWithAjax, aja
      * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
      */
     this.imgElement = null;
-    /**
-     * The Image object for this tile.
-     * @member {Object} image
-     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
-     */
-    this.image      = null;
 
     /**
      * The alias of this.element.style.
@@ -222,6 +216,13 @@ $.Tile = function(level, x, y, bounds, exists, url, context2D, loadWithAjax, aja
      */
     this.visibility = null;
 
+    /**
+     * The transparency indicator of this tile.
+     * @member {Boolean} hasTransparency true if tile contains transparency for correct rendering
+     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
+     */
+    this.hasTransparency = false;
+
     /**
      * Whether this tile is currently being drawn.
      * @member {Boolean} beingDrawn
@@ -266,6 +267,8 @@ $.Tile.prototype = {
 
     // private
     _hasTransparencyChannel: function() {
+        console.warn("Tile.prototype._hasTransparencyChannel() has been " +
+            "deprecated and will be removed in the future. Use TileSource.prototype.hasTransparency() instead.");
         return !!this.context2D || this.url.match('.png');
     },
 
@@ -294,8 +297,13 @@ $.Tile.prototype = {
         //               content during animation of the container size.
 
         if ( !this.element ) {
+            var image = this.getImage();
+            if (!image) {
+                return;
+            }
+
             this.element                              = $.makeNeutralElement( "div" );
-            this.imgElement                           = this.cacheImageRecord.getImage().cloneNode();
+            this.imgElement                           = image.cloneNode();
             this.imgElement.style.msInterpolationMode = "nearest-neighbor";
             this.imgElement.style.width               = "100%";
             this.imgElement.style.height              = "100%";
@@ -322,6 +330,35 @@ $.Tile.prototype = {
         $.setElementOpacity( this.element, this.opacity );
     },
 
+    /**
+     * The Image object for this tile.
+     * @member {Object} image
+     * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Tile#
+     * @deprecated
+     * @return {Image}
+     */
+    get image() {
+        $.console.error("[Tile.image] property has been deprecated. Use [Tile.prototype.getImage] instead.");
+        return this.getImage();
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Get the Image object for this tile.
+     * @return {Image}
+     */
+    getImage: function() {
+        return this.cacheImageRecord.getImage();
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Get the CanvasRenderingContext2D instance for tile image data drawn
+     * onto Canvas if enabled and available
+     * @return {CanvasRenderingContext2D}
+     */
+    getCanvasContext: function() {
+        return this.context2D || this.cacheImageRecord.getRenderedContext();
+    },
+
     /**
      * Renders the tile in a canvas-based context.
      * @function
@@ -334,8 +371,9 @@ $.Tile.prototype = {
      * @param {Boolean} [shouldRoundPositionAndSize] - Tells whether to round
      * position and size of tiles supporting alpha channel in non-transparency
      * context.
+     * @param {OpenSeadragon.TileSource} source - The source specification of the tile.
      */
-    drawCanvas: function( context, drawingHandler, scale, translate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize ) {
+    drawCanvas: function( context, drawingHandler, scale, translate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize, source) {
 
         var position = this.position.times($.pixelDensityRatio),
             size     = this.size.times($.pixelDensityRatio),
@@ -348,7 +386,7 @@ $.Tile.prototype = {
             return;
         }
 
-        rendered = this.context2D || this.cacheImageRecord.getRenderedContext();
+        rendered = this.getCanvasContext();
 
         if ( !this.loaded || !rendered ){
             $.console.warn(
@@ -360,7 +398,6 @@ $.Tile.prototype = {
         }
 
         context.save();
-
         context.globalAlpha = this.opacity;
 
         if (typeof scale === 'number' && scale !== 1) {
@@ -378,7 +415,7 @@ $.Tile.prototype = {
         //ie its done fading or fading is turned off, and if we are drawing
         //an image with an alpha channel, then the only way
         //to avoid seeing the tile underneath is to clear the rectangle
-        if (context.globalAlpha === 1 && this._hasTransparencyChannel()) {
+        if (context.globalAlpha === 1 && this.hasTransparency) {
             if (shouldRoundPositionAndSize) {
                 // Round to the nearest whole pixel so we don't get seams from overlap.
                 position.x = Math.round(position.x);
diff --git a/src/tilecache.js b/src/tilecache.js
index 6221f4e5..cc15a74e 100644
--- a/src/tilecache.js
+++ b/src/tilecache.js
@@ -46,43 +46,22 @@ var TileRecord = function( options ) {
 // private class
 var ImageRecord = function(options) {
     $.console.assert( options, "[ImageRecord] options is required" );
-    $.console.assert( options.image, "[ImageRecord] options.image is required" );
-    this._image = options.image;
+    $.console.assert( options.data, "[ImageRecord] options.data is required" );
     this._tiles = [];
+
+    options.create.apply(null, [this, options.data, options.ownerTile]);
+    this._destroyImplementation = options.destroy.bind(null, this);
+    this.getImage = options.getImage.bind(null, this);
+    this.getData = options.getData.bind(null, this);
+    this.getRenderedContext = options.getRenderedContext.bind(null, this);
 };
 
 ImageRecord.prototype = {
     destroy: function() {
-        this._image = null;
-        this._renderedContext = null;
+        this._destroyImplementation();
         this._tiles = null;
     },
 
-    getImage: function() {
-        return this._image;
-    },
-
-    getRenderedContext: function() {
-        if (!this._renderedContext) {
-            var canvas = document.createElement( 'canvas' );
-            canvas.width = this._image.width;
-            canvas.height = this._image.height;
-            this._renderedContext = canvas.getContext('2d');
-            this._renderedContext.drawImage( this._image, 0, 0 );
-            //since we are caching the prerendered image on a canvas
-            //allow the image to not be held in memory
-            this._image = null;
-        }
-        return this._renderedContext;
-    },
-
-    setRenderedContext: function(renderedContext) {
-        $.console.error("ImageRecord.setRenderedContext is deprecated. " +
-                "The rendered context should be created by the ImageRecord " +
-                "itself when calling ImageRecord.getRenderedContext.");
-        this._renderedContext = renderedContext;
-    },
-
     addTile: function(tile) {
         $.console.assert(tile, '[ImageRecord.addTile] tile is required');
         this._tiles.push(tile);
@@ -158,9 +137,22 @@ $.TileCache.prototype = {
 
         var imageRecord = this._imagesLoaded[options.tile.cacheKey];
         if (!imageRecord) {
-            $.console.assert( options.image, "[TileCache.cacheTile] options.image is required to create an ImageRecord" );
+
+            if (!options.data) {
+                $.console.error("[TileCache.cacheTile] options.image was renamed to options.data. '.image' attribute " +
+                    "has been deprecated and will be removed in the future.");
+                options.data = options.image;
+            }
+
+            $.console.assert( options.data, "[TileCache.cacheTile] options.data is required to create an ImageRecord" );
             imageRecord = this._imagesLoaded[options.tile.cacheKey] = new ImageRecord({
-                image: options.image
+                data: options.data,
+                ownerTile: options.tile,
+                create: options.tiledImage.source.createTileCache,
+                destroy: options.tiledImage.source.destroyTileCache,
+                getImage: options.tiledImage.source.getTileCacheDataAsImage,
+                getData: options.tiledImage.source.getTileCacheData,
+                getRenderedContext: options.tiledImage.source.getTileCacheDataAsContext2D,
             });
 
             this._imagesLoadedCount++;
@@ -196,7 +188,7 @@ $.TileCache.prototype = {
                 worstLevel  = worstTile.level;
 
                 if ( prevTime < worstTime ||
-                   ( prevTime === worstTime && prevLevel > worstLevel ) ) {
+                    ( prevTime === worstTime && prevLevel > worstLevel ) ) {
                     worstTile       = prevTile;
                     worstTileIndex  = i;
                     worstTileRecord = prevTileRecord;
diff --git a/src/tiledimage.js b/src/tiledimage.js
index d4ee2d08..e768d852 100644
--- a/src/tiledimage.js
+++ b/src/tiledimage.js
@@ -1427,8 +1427,7 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
             } else {
                 var imageRecord = this._tileCache.getImageRecord(tile.cacheKey);
                 if (imageRecord) {
-                    var image = imageRecord.getImage();
-                    this._setTileLoaded(tile, image);
+                    this._setTileLoaded(tile, imageRecord.getData());
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -1571,13 +1570,15 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
         tile.loading = true;
         this._imageLoader.addJob({
             src: tile.url,
+            tile: tile,
+            source: this.source,
             postData: tile.postData,
             loadWithAjax: tile.loadWithAjax,
             ajaxHeaders: tile.ajaxHeaders,
             crossOriginPolicy: this.crossOriginPolicy,
             ajaxWithCredentials: this.ajaxWithCredentials,
-            callback: function( image, errorMsg, tileRequest ){
-                _this._onTileLoad( tile, time, image, errorMsg, tileRequest );
+            callback: function( data, errorMsg, tileRequest ){
+                _this._onTileLoad( tile, time, data, errorMsg, tileRequest );
             },
             abort: function() {
                 tile.loading = false;
@@ -1591,12 +1592,12 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
      * Callback fired when a Tile's Image finished downloading.
      * @param {OpenSeadragon.Tile} tile
      * @param {Number} time
-     * @param {Image} image
+     * @param {*} data image data
      * @param {String} errorMsg
      * @param {XMLHttpRequest} tileRequest
      */
-    _onTileLoad: function( tile, time, image, errorMsg, tileRequest ) {
-        if ( !image ) {
+    _onTileLoad: function( tile, time, data, errorMsg, tileRequest ) {
+        if ( !data ) {
             $.console.error( "Tile %s failed to load: %s - error: %s", tile, tile.url, errorMsg );
             /**
              * Triggered when a tile fails to load.
@@ -1632,7 +1633,7 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
             finish = function() {
                 var ccc = _this.source;
                 var cutoff = ccc.getClosestLevel();
-                _this._setTileLoaded(tile, image, cutoff, tileRequest);
+                _this._setTileLoaded(tile, data, cutoff, tileRequest);
         };
 
         // Check if we're mid-update; this can happen on IE8 because image load events for
@@ -1649,11 +1650,11 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
      * @private
      * @inner
      * @param {OpenSeadragon.Tile} tile
-     * @param {Image|undefined} image
+     * @param {*} data image data, the data sent to ImageJob.prototype.finish(), by default an Image object
      * @param {Number|undefined} cutoff
      * @param {XMLHttpRequest|undefined} tileRequest
      */
-    _setTileLoaded: function(tile, image, cutoff, tileRequest) {
+    _setTileLoaded: function(tile, data, cutoff, tileRequest) {
         var increment = 0,
             _this = this;
 
@@ -1667,9 +1668,12 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
             if (increment === 0) {
                 tile.loading = false;
                 tile.loaded = true;
+                tile.hasTransparency = _this.source.hasTransparency(
+                    tile.context2D, tile.url, tile.ajaxHeaders, tile.postData
+                );
                 if (!tile.context2D) {
                     _this._tileCache.cacheTile({
-                        image: image,
+                        data: data,
                         tile: tile,
                         cutoff: cutoff,
                         tiledImage: _this
@@ -1686,7 +1690,8 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
          * @event tile-loaded
          * @memberof OpenSeadragon.Viewer
          * @type {object}
-         * @property {Image} image - The image of the tile.
+         * @property {Image || *} image - The image (data) of the tile. Deprecated.
+         * @property {*} data image data, the data sent to ImageJob.prototype.finish(), by default an Image object
          * @property {OpenSeadragon.TiledImage} tiledImage - The tiled image of the loaded tile.
          * @property {OpenSeadragon.Tile} tile - The tile which has been loaded.
          * @property {XMLHttpRequest} tileRequest - The AJAX request that loaded this tile (if applicable).
@@ -1699,7 +1704,11 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
             tile: tile,
             tiledImage: this,
             tileRequest: tileRequest,
-            image: image,
+            get image() {
+                $.console.error("[tile-loaded] event 'image' has been deprecated. Use 'data' property instead.");
+                return data;
+            },
+            data: data,
             getCompletionCallback: getCompletionCallback
         });
         // In case the completion callback is never called, we at least force it once.
@@ -1842,7 +1851,8 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
         if (tile) {
             useSketch = this.opacity < 1 ||
                 (this.compositeOperation && this.compositeOperation !== 'source-over') ||
-                (!this._isBottomItem() && tile._hasTransparencyChannel());
+                (!this._isBottomItem() &&
+                    this.source.hasTransparency(tile.context2D, tile.url, tile.ajaxHeaders, tile.postData));
         }
 
         var sketchScale;
@@ -1984,7 +1994,8 @@ $.extend($.TiledImage.prototype, $.EventSource.prototype, /** @lends OpenSeadrag
 
         for (var i = lastDrawn.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
             tile = lastDrawn[ i ];
-            this._drawer.drawTile( tile, this._drawingHandler, useSketch, sketchScale, sketchTranslate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize );
+            this._drawer.drawTile( tile, this._drawingHandler, useSketch, sketchScale,
+                sketchTranslate, shouldRoundPositionAndSize, this.source );
             tile.beingDrawn = true;
 
             if( this.viewer ){
diff --git a/src/tilesource.js b/src/tilesource.js
index 445dab70..cba91511 100644
--- a/src/tilesource.js
+++ b/src/tilesource.js
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ $.TileSource.prototype = {
                      * @property {String} message
                      * @property {String} source
                      * @property {String} postData - HTTP POST data (usually but not necessarily in k=v&k2=v2... form,
-                     *      see TileSrouce::getPostData) or null
+                     *      see TileSource::getPostData) or null
                      * @property {?Object} userData - Arbitrary subscriber-defined object.
                      */
                     _this.raiseEvent( 'open-failed', {
@@ -709,6 +709,194 @@ $.TileSource.prototype = {
                y >= 0 &&
                x < numTiles.x &&
                y < numTiles.y;
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Decide whether tiles have transparency: this is crucial for correct images blending.
+     * @return {boolean} true if the image has transparency
+     */
+    hasTransparency: function(context2D, url, ajaxHeaders, post) {
+        return !!context2D || url.match('.png');
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Download tile data.
+     * Note that if you override this function, you should override also downloadTileAbort().
+     * @param {ImageJob} context job context that you have to call finish(...) on.
+     * @param {String} [context.src] - URL of image to download.
+     * @param {String} [context.loadWithAjax] - Whether to load this image with AJAX.
+     * @param {String} [context.ajaxHeaders] - Headers to add to the image request if using AJAX.
+     * @param {Boolean} [context.ajaxWithCredentials] - Whether to set withCredentials on AJAX requests.
+     * @param {String} [context.crossOriginPolicy] - CORS policy to use for downloads
+     * @param {String} [context.postData] - HTTP POST data (usually but not necessarily in k=v&k2=v2... form,
+     *   see TileSource::getPostData) or null
+     * @param {*} [context.userData] - Empty object to attach your own data and helper variables to.
+     * @param {Function} [context.finish] - Should be called unless abort() was executed, e.g. on all occasions,
+     *   be it successful or unsuccessful request.
+     *   Usage: context.finish(data, request, errMessage). Pass the downloaded data object or null upon failure.
+     *   Add also reference to an ajax request if used. Provide error message in case of failure.
+     * @param {Function} [context.abort] - Called automatically when the job times out.
+     *   Usage: context.abort().
+     * @param {Function} [context.callback] @private - Called automatically once image has been downloaded
+     *   (triggered by finish).
+     * @param {Number} [context.timeout] @private - The max number of milliseconds that
+     *   this image job may take to complete.
+     * @param {string} [context.errorMsg] @private - The final error message, default null (set by finish).
+     */
+    downloadTileStart: function (context) {
+        var dataStore = context.userData,
+            image = new Image();
+
+        dataStore.image = image;
+        dataStore.request = null;
+
+        var finish = function(error) {
+            if (!image) {
+                context.finish(null, dataStore.request, "Image load failed: undefined Image instance.");
+                return;
+            }
+            image.onload = image.onerror = image.onabort = null;
+            context.finish(error ? null : image, dataStore.request, error);
+        };
+        image.onload = function () {
+            finish();
+        };
+        image.onabort = image.onerror = function() {
+            finish("Image load aborted.");
+        };
+
+        // Load the tile with an AJAX request if the loadWithAjax option is
+        // set. Otherwise load the image by setting the source proprety of the image object.
+        if (context.loadWithAjax) {
+            dataStore.request = $.makeAjaxRequest({
+                url: context.src,
+                withCredentials: context.ajaxWithCredentials,
+                headers: context.ajaxHeaders,
+                responseType: "arraybuffer",
+                postData: context.postData,
+                success: function(request) {
+                    var blb;
+                    // Make the raw data into a blob.
+                    // BlobBuilder fallback adapted from
+                    // http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15293694/blob-constructor-browser-compatibility
+                    try {
+                        blb = new window.Blob([request.response]);
+                    } catch (e) {
+                        var BlobBuilder = (
+                            window.BlobBuilder ||
+                            window.WebKitBlobBuilder ||
+                            window.MozBlobBuilder ||
+                            window.MSBlobBuilder
+                        );
+                        if (e.name === 'TypeError' && BlobBuilder) {
+                            var bb = new BlobBuilder();
+                            bb.append(request.response);
+                            blb = bb.getBlob();
+                        }
+                    }
+                    // If the blob is empty for some reason consider the image load a failure.
+                    if (blb.size === 0) {
+                        finish("Empty image response.");
+                    } else {
+                        // Create a URL for the blob data and make it the source of the image object.
+                        // This will still trigger Image.onload to indicate a successful tile load.
+                        image.src = (window.URL || window.webkitURL).createObjectURL(blb);
+                    }
+                },
+                error: function(request) {
+                    finish("Image load aborted - XHR error");
+                }
+            });
+        } else {
+            if (context.crossOriginPolicy !== false) {
+                image.crossOrigin = context.crossOriginPolicy;
+            }
+            image.src = context.src;
+        }
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Provide means of aborting the execution.
+     * Note that if you override this function, you should override also downloadTileStart().
+     * @param {ImageJob} context job, the same object as with downloadTileStart(..)
+     * @param {*} [context.userData] - Empty object to attach (and mainly read) your own data.
+     */
+    downloadTileAbort: function (context) {
+        if (context.userData.request) {
+            context.userData.request.abort();
+        }
+        var image = context.userData.image;
+        if (context.userData.image) {
+            image.onload = image.onerror = image.onabort = null;
+        }
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Create cache object from the result of the download process. The
+     * cacheObject parameter should be used to attach the data to, there are no
+     * conventions on how it should be stored - all the logic is implemented within *TileCache() functions.
+     *
+     * Note that if you override any of *TileCache() functions, you should override all of them.
+     * @param {object} cacheObject context cache object
+     * @param {*} data image data, the data sent to ImageJob.prototype.finish(), by default an Image object
+     * @param {Tile} tile instance the cache was created with
+     */
+    createTileCache: function(cacheObject, data, tile) {
+        cacheObject._data = data;
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Cache object destructor, unset all properties you created to allow GC collection.
+     * Note that if you override any of *TileCache() functions, you should override all of them.
+     * @param {object} cacheObject context cache object
+     */
+    destroyTileCache: function (cacheObject) {
+        cacheObject._data = null;
+        cacheObject._renderedContext = null;
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Raw data getter
+     * Note that if you override any of *TileCache() functions, you should override all of them.
+     * @param {object} cacheObject context cache object
+     * @return {*} cache data
+     */
+    getTileCacheData: function(cacheObject) {
+        return cacheObject._data;
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Compatibility image element getter
+     *  - plugins might need image representation of the data
+     *  - div HTML rendering relies on image element presence
+     * Note that if you override any of *TileCache() functions, you should override all of them.
+     *  @param {object} cacheObject context cache object
+     *  @return {Image} cache data as an Image
+     */
+    getTileCacheDataAsImage: function(cacheObject) {
+        return cacheObject._data; //the data itself by default is Image
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * Compatibility context 2D getter
+     *  - most heavily used rendering method is a canvas-based approach,
+     *    convert the data to a canvas and return it's 2D context
+     * Note that if you override any of *TileCache() functions, you should override all of them.
+     * @param {object} cacheObject context cache object
+     * @return {CanvasRenderingContext2D} context of the canvas representation of the cache data
+     */
+    getTileCacheDataAsContext2D: function(cacheObject) {
+        if (!cacheObject._renderedContext) {
+            var canvas = document.createElement( 'canvas' );
+            canvas.width = cacheObject._data.width;
+            canvas.height = cacheObject._data.height;
+            cacheObject._renderedContext = canvas.getContext('2d');
+            cacheObject._renderedContext.drawImage( cacheObject._data, 0, 0 );
+            //since we are caching the prerendered image on a canvas
+            //allow the image to not be held in memory
+            cacheObject._data = null;
+        }
+        return cacheObject._renderedContext;
     }
 };
 
diff --git a/test/modules/basic.js b/test/modules/basic.js
index d5635fcf..457adeab 100644
--- a/test/modules/basic.js
+++ b/test/modules/basic.js
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@
 
 
     // The Wikipedia logo has CORS enabled
-    var corsImg = 'http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Wiki.png';
+    var corsImg = 'https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Wiki.png';
 
     QUnit.test( 'CrossOriginPolicyMissing', function (assert) {
         var done = assert.async();
diff --git a/test/modules/tilecache.js b/test/modules/tilecache.js
index 65fbf431..26ee51ba 100644
--- a/test/modules/tilecache.js
+++ b/test/modules/tilecache.js
@@ -19,10 +19,12 @@
             raiseEvent: function() {}
         };
         var fakeTiledImage0 = {
-            viewer: fakeViewer
+            viewer: fakeViewer,
+            source: OpenSeadragon.TileSource.prototype
         };
         var fakeTiledImage1 = {
-            viewer: fakeViewer
+            viewer: fakeViewer,
+            source: OpenSeadragon.TileSource.prototype
         };
 
         var fakeTile0 = {
@@ -74,7 +76,8 @@
             raiseEvent: function() {}
         };
         var fakeTiledImage0 = {
-            viewer: fakeViewer
+            viewer: fakeViewer,
+            source: OpenSeadragon.TileSource.prototype
         };
 
         var fakeTile0 = {