Re: Printing music parts and scores

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hi Jeremiah,

> Once again, your comments have helped me clarify my problem.
> I now realize that I have three problems

Every time I try to help someone, I make it my personal goal to at  
least triple the number of problems they originally thought they  
had!  ;-)

> (1) hi-res output. I can do 1200 dpi at home but only on 8.5x11. I  
> can enlarge my output.

Yes!

> (2) Reproduction: The local copy center (Capital Copy for the  
> Capital of Vermont) can do the enlargement.

Yes!

> Which leaves, Problem #3:
> (3) PAPER? What do you do for paper?

I special order reams of tabloid paper (ivory, opaque, heavy stock)  
for my at-home printing needs.
At Kinko's, if I don't bring my own paper, I ask for the most similar  
stock they have.
At a litho, I special order from the available samples.

> do you print onto heavy 9x12 (9.5x12; 10X13) paper for orchestral  
> parts?

Yes: I print double-sided 11x17, laid out on the page with 9x12 "crop  
marks", and then trim the output by hand (with a standard paper  
guillotine).

> 18X12 inch paper for two page folded orchestral parts?

Never done it myself.

> Photocopy paper and 8.5x11 sizes doesn't cut it.

Agreed.

> Maybe big city Kinko's stock speciality paper, but I am going to  
> have to order paper cut to my specifications.

As mentioned, I did that, and often bring my own paper to Kinko's to  
substitute it for theirs -- sometimes, they'll even give me a discount!
[p.s. If you give them a PDF file, you can almost always demand that  
the ripping charge be eliminated.]

> What about full size conductor's scores?
> Do you print onto 11x17 heavy weight paper?

I tend to go 10x13 for orchestral scores -- similar to the large  
Barenreiter hardbound scores (e.g., Mozart symphony).

> Do you spiral bind the score?

I don't like spiral bindings, nor any of the similar options.
If I'm not doing (or able to do) a full signature-sewn -- I have a  
"local guy", Don Taylor, who is AMAZING -- I try to get the highest- 
quality "perfect" binding I can find.

> I have a big project which requires 6 copies of the score and a  
> complete set of orchestral parts (49 parts).

Good luck!

> This is my biggest project to date and I am finding that the  
> *quality* is in the details

Isn't that always the case?  =)

Best wishes,
Kieren.