PrintMusic upgrade

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Annierob2004
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:45 pm
Finale Version: Printmusic 2002
Operating System: Windows

Post by Annierob2004 » Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:50 pm

Hi I'm using Printmusic 2002 (I've been a user for a very long time but have only just found this forum!)

I contacted the Finale support desk re an upgrade to PM v 14 which they say isn't available at a discount, the full price of $119.95 is too much for me, but they said there is no discount option. They suggested a couple of websites which might be able to supply at a lower cost but the only ones I could find cheaper were on eBay or similar with downloads from unknown resellers. I'm nervous about the risk given that they are still coming in at around $85-90.

My choir is very small and we do not perform for profit so the cost of this is going to be personal to me and I just don't have that sort of money. My old version still works fine except it won't import TIFFs so it's pretty laborious. What I'm wondering is how reliable the SmartScore Lite app is to help me decide whether to ask for a contribution from Father Christmas!

Help and advice would be very welcome. Thanks!!!


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miker
Posts: 5993
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:28 pm
Finale Version: Finale 27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by miker » Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:34 pm

Forget SmartScore Lite. It’s a waste of money. It scans, recognizes, and exports the XML, errors and all. The advantage of the full SmartScore is that you can edit the recognition result, before exporting. And most things are much easier to edit in SmartScore Pro than in Finale.

SmartScore output is directly related to the quality of the input. If what you have is a copy of a copy of a handwritten and annotated score, forget it.

On the other hand, if it’s a clean printed score, you can scan it (or start from a good PDF) and get good results. That being said, you will have to do some editing of the scanned score. I have scanned hundreds of scores, and have never had one error-free. You will have to learn how to use SmartScore’s image and recognition editing tools. It has a learning curve, like any other powerful program. The more you use it, the better you get.

I couldn’t do without it. Three times a year, I’m given around twenty choral scores, mostly with piano accompaniment, and I have to scan them, correct them in SS, move them to Finale, do some tweaking, and generate learning tracks.

So, if you really want to get successful, you will need a more current version of Finale, and SmartScore. As a Finale owner, you can purchase SmartScore at a 50% discount. Still, you are looking at real money.

You can buy PrintMusic for $100 at Sweetwater. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... 4-download
I purchased my Finale 26 upgrade from them. They can definitely be trusted! PM 2014 includes SmartScore Lite, although as I said earlier, it's not much good. In fact, it's the reason many people insist that scanning is a waste of time, never having used the real program!


If you want to discuss it further, I’m happy to talk. I’m in Seattle, at 206 five two three 9 six two 8.
Finale 27 | SmartScorePro 64
Mac OS 13.2.1 Ventura
Copyist for Barbershop Harmony Society

Annierob2004
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:45 pm
Finale Version: Printmusic 2002
Operating System: Windows

Post by Annierob2004 » Wed Nov 28, 2018 6:03 pm

Thanks so much MikeR, that's really helpful. I'm in the UK so our timezones aren't really compatible but tyou've anyway given me lots of food for thought!

Amazon in the UK has a CD version of PM 2014 for £47 (??? c $60 ???) but the vendors couldn't tell me if it works on a 64 bit Windows 10 platform. The box says Windows 8 I'm told. i'm assuming yes? I can just about run to £47!!!!

User avatar
miker
Posts: 5993
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:28 pm
Finale Version: Finale 27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by miker » Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:22 pm

According to this, you should be OK.

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... Windows-10
Finale 27 | SmartScorePro 64
Mac OS 13.2.1 Ventura
Copyist for Barbershop Harmony Society

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