diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index eb6a4359..82bdee09 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -1,18 +1,7 @@
-- does the tiff writer support "none" for the profile?
-
-  bool args should let you skip the '=', eg. 
+- bool args should let you skip the '=', eg. 
 
 	vips copy x.jpg x.tif[tile,tile-width=1024]
 
-  try
-
-	  $ vips copy x.jpg x.tif[tile=true,tilew=1024]
-	  save image to tiff file: class `VipsForeignSaveTiff' has no property named `tilew'
-	  VipsObject: bad object arguments
-
-  using class blurb rather than nick in error!
-
-
 
 
 
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/tiffsave.c b/libvips/foreign/tiffsave.c
index c8d42665..795ea6cf 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/tiffsave.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/tiffsave.c
@@ -87,19 +87,24 @@ vips_foreign_save_tiff_build( VipsObject *object )
 		build( object ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
-	/* Default xres/yres to the values in the image.
+	/* Default xres/yres to the values from the image.
 	 */
 	if( !vips_argument_get_assigned( object, "xres" ) )
 		tiff->xres = save->ready->Xres * 10.0;
 	if( !vips_argument_get_assigned( object, "yres" ) )
 		tiff->yres = save->ready->Yres * 10.0;
+
+	/* resunit param overrides resunit metadata.
+	 */
 	if( !vips_argument_get_assigned( object, "resunit" ) &&
 		vips_image_get_typeof( save->ready, 
 			VIPS_META_RESOLUTION_UNIT ) &&
 		!vips_image_get_string( save->ready, 
 			VIPS_META_RESOLUTION_UNIT, &p ) &&
-		vips_isprefix( "in", p ) ) {
+		vips_isprefix( "in", p ) ) 
 		tiff->resunit = VIPS_FOREIGN_TIFF_RESUNIT_INCH;
+
+	if( tiff->resunit == VIPS_FOREIGN_TIFF_RESUNIT_INCH ) {
 		tiff->xres *= 2.54;
 		tiff->yres *= 2.54;
 	}
@@ -276,8 +281,19 @@ vips_foreign_save_tiff_init( VipsForeignSaveTiff *tiff )
  * vips_tiffsave:
  * @in: image to save 
  * @filename: file to write to 
+ * @compression; use this compression scheme
  * @Q: quality factor
+ * @predictor; compress with this prediction
  * @profile: attach this ICC profile
+ * @tile; set %TRUE to write a tiled tiff
+ * @tile_width; set tile size
+ * @tile_height; set tile size
+ * @pyramid; set %TRUE to write an image pyramid
+ * @squash; squash 8-bit images down to 1 bit
+ * @resunit; use pixels per inch or cm for the resolution
+ * @xres; horizontal resolution
+ * @yres; vertical resolution
+ * @bigtiff; write a BigTiff file
  *
  * Write a VIPS image to a file as TIFF.
  *
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/vips2tiff.c b/libvips/foreign/vips2tiff.c
index 7d376855..b8f16f59 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/vips2tiff.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/vips2tiff.c
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@
  * 	- set reduced-resolution subfile type on pyramid layers
  * 2/12/11
  * 	- turn into a write fn ready to be called from a class
+ * 	- allow "none" as a profile name
  */
 
 /*
@@ -425,8 +426,10 @@ static int
 embed_profile( TiffWrite *tw, TIFF *tif )
 {
 	if( tw->icc_profile && 
+		strcmp( tw->icc_profile, "none" ) != 0 &&
 		embed_profile_file( tif, tw->icc_profile ) )
 		return( -1 );
+
 	if( !tw->icc_profile && 
 		im_header_get_typeof( tw->im, IM_META_ICC_NAME ) &&
 		embed_profile_meta( tif, tw->im ) )
diff --git a/libvips/iofuncs/object.c b/libvips/iofuncs/object.c
index 23c36f6d..2cc3ef2b 100644
--- a/libvips/iofuncs/object.c
+++ b/libvips/iofuncs/object.c
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ vips_object_get_argument( VipsObject *object, const char *name,
 
 	if( !(*pspec = g_object_class_find_property( 
 		G_OBJECT_CLASS( class ), name )) ) {
-		vips_error( VIPS_OBJECT_CLASS( class )->description, 
+		vips_error( VIPS_OBJECT_CLASS( class )->nickname, 
 			_( "class `%s' has no property named `%s'" ),
 			G_OBJECT_TYPE_NAME( object ), name );
 		return( -1 );
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ vips_object_get_argument( VipsObject *object, const char *name,
 	if( !(*argument_class = (VipsArgumentClass *)
 		vips__argument_table_lookup( class->argument_table, 
 		*pspec )) ) {
-		vips_error( VIPS_OBJECT_CLASS( class )->description, 
+		vips_error( VIPS_OBJECT_CLASS( class )->nickname, 
 			_( "class `%s' has no vips argument named `%s'" ),
 			G_OBJECT_TYPE_NAME( object ), name );
 		return( -1 );
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ vips_object_get_argument( VipsObject *object, const char *name,
 	if( argument_class &&
 		!(*argument_instance = vips__argument_get_instance( 
 			*argument_class, object )) ) {
-		vips_error( VIPS_OBJECT_CLASS( class )->description, 
+		vips_error( VIPS_OBJECT_CLASS( class )->nickname, 
 			_( "vips argument `%s' has no instance" ),
 			G_OBJECT_TYPE_NAME( object ), name );
 		return( -1 );
@@ -1129,7 +1129,7 @@ vips_object_class_init( VipsObjectClass *class )
 	class->new_from_string = vips_object_real_new_from_string;
 	class->to_string = vips_object_real_to_string;
 	class->nickname = "object";
-	class->description = _( "VIPS base class" );
+	class->description = _( "base class" );
 
 	/* Table of VipsArgumentClass ... we can just g_free() them.
 	 */