PRINTING TIPS
Printing your digital download is usually quite easy, but here are some tips to save you time and trouble.
1. Paper
Use good paper. If you use ordinary office paper it will not last as long, and sometimes will not be opaque enough. And individual band parts printed on flimsy paper are more likely to fall off the stand. We recommend 120gsm (32lb in USA) paper for parts and at least 100 gsm for scores. If you are producing parts for outdoor use we suggest printing on card (around 160gsm (40lb in North America). You need to check the limits of your printer, but many recent laser printers can tolerate quite high paper weights.
2. Reduction/Enlargement
On most laser printers you can change the size of the image, usually by a percentage larger, as follows:
(a) You can print at, say, 96% if you want more space in the margins to write comments. Most printer drivers will have a “fit to paper” or “shrink to paper” option if there is no percentage reduction option.
(b) International and US paper sizes differ. International paper sizes (A4: 297 x 210 ) are taller and narrower than equivalent US sizes (“letter” = 11 ins x 8.5 ins). If you print our downloads on US paper without an reduction you will probably lose the code number at the bottom of the page. But sometime you may need to print at 96% to get the whole image comfortably on the sheet.
3. Resolution
Resolution is essentially the sharpness of the image, expressed in dpi (dots per inch). Many printers allow you to choose the resolution, typically 300, 600 or 1200 dpi. Don’t assume that highest is always best. On certain machines printing at 1200 produces staff lines that are a little thin. But if the resolution is too low, the image may not be quite sharp. Experiment a little until you are happy with the result.
4. Imposition/Booklet printing.
It’s not out of the question to print your downloaded scores as booklets that you can simply bind with a long-arm stapler. Many laser printers (particularly HP) have an option to print 2up like this. You do of course need an A3 machine (11 x 17 in US); such machines used to be rather expensive, but now there are even A3 inkjet machines that are inexpensive. Alternatively, if you are content with a miniature score, you can print 2 pages on an A4 sheet.
An alternative to allowing the printer to impose the pages is to use a simple Imposition programme that will allow you to turn a series of individual pages into a book. Some of these programmes are free for occasional use. Alternatively you can use a graphics/publishing programme such as Adobe InDesign.
None of this is rocket science.
5. Large print
If you have poor vision, you can make your life easier by printing A4 pages on A3. If you do this, it is quite important to use good paper, as A3 sheets printed on 80gsm are quite floppy, and you might end up like Buster Keaton trying, and failing, to get his sheets of music on the piano stand.