Printing help

General notation questions, including advanced notation, formatting, etc., go here.

Moderators: Peter Thomsen, miker

Post Reply
Mullen_Music
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu May 21, 2020 5:42 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26.2
Operating System: Mac

Post by Mullen_Music » Sun Jun 28, 2020 2:37 pm

Here's what I need:

Two pages of 8.5x11 in Portrait arranged on one piece of 11x17 in Landscape, so you'll see the two pages side by side. If my score is more than 4 pages, I additionally need to have it print in booklet form. I've been experimenting with the print options for hours and while I have gotten close, I can't quite get it. The best I've managed is two pages that are severely shrunk (clicking "scale to fit" makes it go back to one page per sheet.)

My goal is to sell my work, so it's important it looks professional.

I've initially searched the forum here and didn't find an answer, so any help would be greatly appreciated.


User avatar
Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6601
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by Peter Thomsen » Sun Jun 28, 2020 3:07 pm

Mullen_Music wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 2:37 pm
… I've been experimenting with the print options for hours and while I have gotten close, I can't quite get it …
Too little info.

Please specify the steps you've already taken, so that we can rule out things.

Have you read in the manual about the Print dialog box ?

In the Print the dialog, have you found the option {2-up} ?

And have you found the option {Ignore printer margins for n-up printing} ?
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

User avatar
motet
Posts: 8225
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:33 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5,2011,2005,27
Operating System: Windows

Post by motet » Sun Jun 28, 2020 4:45 pm

I create PDFs and then make booklets or otherwise do 2-up printing from a program called CutePDF Professional. Adobe Acrobat of course can do it, too. If your booklets are thick, you might also want to allow for "page creep" by widening the center gutter gradually as you approach the center of the booklet, so that when the ragged edges of the folded pages are trimmed the music appears centered on every page. These programs can do that, too. They also let you combine movements from separate Finale files and add consecutive page numbers, which are problematic in Finale. When making booklets, the pages must be printed 2-sided in a peculiar order, which I don't think Finale itself can do.

I could never make sense of Finale's 2-up printing, though I'm sure it's possible. But if you're going to do this a lot, it may make sense to do it in the PDF realm.

User avatar
David Ward
Posts: 814
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:48 pm
Finale Version: F 25.5 & 26.3
Operating System: Mac

Post by David Ward » Sun Jun 28, 2020 8:34 pm

Mullen_Music, I see you are on a Mac. I find two cheap or free applications useful for creating booklets from PDFs. They show in Mac Applications as Create Booklet 2.app and as PDF-BatchBooklet.app and both are very simple to use once you have created a PDF of your Finale file.
Finale 25.5 & 26.3
Mac 10.13.6 & 10.14.6

Mullen_Music
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu May 21, 2020 5:42 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26.2
Operating System: Mac

Post by Mullen_Music » Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:44 am

Thank you everyone for the feedback.

I think I might have it. What was causing me trouble was setting the print paper size to Tabloid, even though that seemed to be correct because that's the size paper I wanted. However, when I tried it with 8 1/2 x 11 after selecting two pages per sheet, it did the trick. Now, my end result was two pages per sheet on the wrong size paper, but, I could then take the PDF and set the size to tabloid, increase the image size about 140%, and it looked perfect! It ended up being a lot of nonintuitive steps, but so far so good. I even had luck saving it in booklet form. This is definitely helping me decide if I want to buy a large format printer instead of going to a print shop each time.

Now all I need to figure out how to do is add in a cover sheet and a composer information page into the document.

User avatar
ebiggs1
Posts: 1424
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:57 am
Finale Version: Finale 27.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by ebiggs1 » Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:18 pm

I have two large format printers and I never use Finale to print with.

My favorite of the two printers is my Brother Business Smart MFC-J6545DW. I doubt they make it any longer but I am sure they have a similar new model. I use CutePDF Pro and DoPDF registered.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

User avatar
motet
Posts: 8225
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:33 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5,2011,2005,27
Operating System: Windows

Post by motet » Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:08 pm

What do you do with DoPDF?

I have a newer model Brother printer and it's fine, but for any sort of volume I think you'll want a laser printer, which is faster, more economical in terms of toner/ink, and a bit crisper in quality. Look around for a refurbished Hewlett Packard from the company's heyday (e.g. HP 5000, 5100, 5200, etc.).

User avatar
ebiggs1
Posts: 1424
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:57 am
Finale Version: Finale 27.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by ebiggs1 » Thu Jul 02, 2020 11:36 pm

I had an old HP 6000 (I think that is the model anyway) The Brother is head and shoulders better. I also have a HP Officejet Pro 7740. The Brother outperforms it too. I use a local print shop to make the finished product.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

User avatar
motet
Posts: 8225
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:33 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5,2011,2005,27
Operating System: Windows

Post by motet » Thu Jul 02, 2020 11:41 pm

The OfficeJets (including your 6000 and 7740) are consumer-level products costing a couple of hundred dollars. The LaserJets were professional machines built like a tank and costing thousands of dollars when new, whose print quality is as good as you get at a print shop. They can be had refurbished for hundreds now.

User avatar
ebiggs1
Posts: 1424
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:57 am
Finale Version: Finale 27.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by ebiggs1 » Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:04 am

The HP 6000(?) was a laser printer. My regular job for 40 years was for Hallmark Cards in KC. We had every kind of a way man can put ink on paper. I have either worked on or used just about every printer there is.
Currently I have three Canon Pro 100 photo printers for my photography business. (retired now) The HP Officejet and the Brother. This is my third Brother, it is the best inkjet I have ever used. It is a large printer but it is wireless so where it sets isn't too important.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

User avatar
motet
Posts: 8225
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:33 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5,2011,2005,27
Operating System: Windows

Post by motet » Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:21 am

I have a Brother Business Smart Pro MFC-J6935DW and it is indeed a nice inkjet printer. However, the LaserJet output is superior for music, and much faster. Maybe I'll post a side-by-side comparison here. Hard to say what your "6000" was. I don't think there was a LaserJet with that number. Was it something you could easily pick up? The LaserJets were large and very heavy.

User avatar
ebiggs1
Posts: 1424
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:57 am
Finale Version: Finale 27.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by ebiggs1 » Fri Jul 03, 2020 1:10 am

Well that probably isn't the correct model number. It was a laser printer and it was about the size of the Brother although it only did 8 1/2 x 11 and 8 1/2 x 14. The Brother does up to 11x17 ledger size, so does my HP. I could have bought any number of printers from Hallmark as they retired them from service for pennies on the dollar. I am completely happy with the results from the Brother. Besides the Brother does color and the HP laser was B&W.

I do not remember the HP laser being any faster than the Brother. The output from the Canon Pro 100 photo printer is far better than any laser I have seen, barring some megabuck laser, and it is an inkjet also. It does up to 13x19.

I just got my new piece "2020 Heroes" back from Niffie Printing service and it looks amazing. I am not in the market to change what is working.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

Post Reply