Complex printing operation in progress.

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Hector Pascal
Posts: 432
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 11:43 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26
Operating System: Mac

Post by Hector Pascal » Sat Jul 20, 2019 2:27 am

Hi all,

I am on a mission to print two double sided sheets, the size of each sheet is equivalent to 3 portrait A4 pages side by side. I have calculated that, for each of the two sheets, the long edge will be 630mm and the shorter edge will be 297mm.

The goal is to make saddle-stitched booklets with fold out pages sans sticky tape.

I suspect it'd be best printed on A0 sized paper, then trimmed. A0 is 841mm x 1189mm. I should be able to get two duplex sheets out of 1 A0.

My PDF is set to A4 page size and I am considering my options regarding the imposition of the PDF pages for booklet printing. I don't think buontempi's excellent python plugin will impose this particular job (I usually use it for non-foldout-page jobs with creep). I might need to get my local printer to impose it for me using his (probably expensive) software.

Any advice welcome.

If I manage to achieve this, I'll report back with my experiences, if anyone else is interested.

Cheerio,
Hector Pascal.


User avatar
apkyburz
Posts: 179
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:50 am
Finale Version: 26 (+TG, Pattsn, JW)
Operating System: Mac

Post by apkyburz » Fri Sep 20, 2019 3:28 pm

Sounds great! Please keep us posted!

Hector Pascal
Posts: 432
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 11:43 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26
Operating System: Mac

Post by Hector Pascal » Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:18 am

Hi apkyburz!

Everything went really well.

I cannot take all the credit, as my local print shop helped me. Here is what I did, and what I learned:

I typeset my score into Finale with a page size of A4 (I live in A4 land).
I printed a hard copy (single sided) and laid the sheets out on a table in order to "model" what I wanted to achieve. I used sticky tape to model the layout of the pages and double-side them as required. Then I could see that the document actually comprised a certain number of long double-sided sheets. This model making required some mental gymnastics.

The results of my mental gymnastics was this: pictured are two long sheets equivalent of 3 A4's each (double-sided).
_ _ _
* _ _ _

If one lays them on top of each other in the overlapping manner shown above (ignore the asterisk), then 2 staples (aka saddle stitch) can bind the 2 sheets in position, whilst allowing for two fold-out pages. Depending on which fold you put staples in, and how long your sheets are, and how you align the long sheets on top of each other, you can have various layouts and fold-outs.

I exported my Finale file as a PDF, and gave it to my print shop along with my taped up model. They imposed it on their computer (put the PDF pages in the right order for printing on the two long sheets).

They then printed it onto 2 long sheets (I chose 120gsm), trimmed, folded, put two staples (saddle stitched) to bind the two long sheets to become:

Front (Title Page)
3 page spread
2 Page spread
3 page spread
Back

When I collected it, the result was pretty impressive! Even better than I had imagined as the 120gsm paper proved to be ideal stiffness for a document with fold-outs. Worth mentioning is the additional expense of the print job: it does cost more than a normal job for a print shop to print on larger sheets and fold them manually. However, the more you print, the cheaper per book.

After all is said and done, I am happy to have worked out how to do it, and can recommend it as an elegant-looking creation!

Cheers,
Hector.

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