How to Get EXACT Measurements for Line Thickness with System Scaling

[partridgefamily]

Hi, everyone! I’m trying to copy the look of this engraving from OCP: https://dh8zy5a1i9xe5.cloudfront.net/sh ... 2546z4.pdf I’ve begun by scaling down the system percentage size in Finale to match the height of OCP’s staves (and by height, I mean the measurement from the top line to the bottom line of a staff). Then, I opened the PDF sample from OCP in a vector graphics editor to discern the exact line thickness of the staff lines. I afterwards copied that value into the staff line thickness box.

However, I realized a glaring problem in my methodology: the system size percent change scales the thickness of the staff lines as well. Additionally, the font size for the lyrics is smaller than usual because of this scaling, which is undesired.

Is there a better way to adjust the height (again, please see my definition of “height” above) of the staves other than resizing the system? Because a lot of complicated math is needed to correct line thickness and font size for the percent change in the system size. I wouldn’t know where to begin for these calculations. I hope this makes sense; I’ll clarify if anyone needs. I am truly grateful for your help!

[motet]

You need to scale everything associated with the staff up by the amount the system is scaled down, so if the Page Format dialog reports that resultant system scaling = 80%, say, then you need scale up line thickness and lyric point size to compensate, in this case by multiplying by 100/80. You might find it easier to work with EVPUs rather than inches or centimeters. (An EVPU is a quarter of a point, or 1/288").

[partridgefamily]

Thank you very much, @motet. I will look into that!