NOTATIO

Elaine Gould gives 3.7mm as the smallest acceptable stave height for a full score; but what about a study score? Would 3.5mm be OK, in the opinion of members of this forum?

I have a 320 page score which I would normally have printed in Glasgow to B4 giving a stave height of 4.3mm, but due to Covid restrictions that is currently unavailable to me. Instead I plan to use the fast on-line service https://www.doxdirect.com/ which only has A3, A4 or A5 available.

320 pages of A3 might be a bit cumbersome for the intended use, but my experimental home inkjet printed A4 page with 3.5mm staves looks a bit small, although that may not be a reliable guide for how it should look when professionally printed.

Maybe the following information can help you.
I looked at the few study orchestral scores I own and here are the results:
Maurice Ravel - Boléro (Durand) 2,8 mm
Maurice Ravel - Concerto pour Piano et orchestre (Durand) 3,2 mm
Respighi - Pini di Roma (Ricordi) 2,8 mm
Mussorgsky-Ravel - Tableaux d'une exposition (Boosey & Hawkes) 3,8 mm

But I must confess that the measurement are only an aproximation, it is not so easy for me to measure this!

teacue wrote: ↑18 Sep 2020, 23:14 I looked at the few study orchestral scores I own and here are the results:
Maurice Ravel - Boléro (Durand) 2,8 mm
Maurice Ravel - Concerto pour Piano et orchestre (Durand) 3,2 mm
Respighi - Pini di Roma (Ricordi) 2,8 mm
...

That's right. The only difference is that these scores are emboldened, while Finale scores zoomed out tend to disappear, particularly lines. Something for Dorico team to investigate: the smaller size, the more embolden. The same is for the cue staves. Daniel?

dspreadbury wrote:                                       ☝☝☝

David, I would suggest using Halstan, they have definitely that type of paper. Printed on non-white paper for musicians, and perfectly bond and shipped.

I can now confirm that the 3.5mm staves are fully legible in the aforementioned study score as printed by https://www.doxdirect.com/ (which was done very cheaply & quickly). It would not normally be suitable for a conductor's score (although I've seen conductors turn up to rehearsal with tiny miniature scores and then conduct the performance from memory).

OCTO I've not yet had any response to my enquiry to Halstan (UK), but there are a lot of Covid difficulties in the UK just now, so that doesn't really surprise me.

On a more personal note, I was due to be going across to Drumnadrochit (Loch Ness) 85 miles or so West and a bit South from here, to stay for a few days with the librettist of a recent piece of mine and his partner, a woman I've known for her whole life who is an artist and stage designer with whom I've collaborated on several projects. This trip has had to be cancelled as the Scottish Government yesterday imposed even stricter Covid restrictions than the new ones in England, meaning that people from two different households in Scotland are no longer allowed to meet indoors. This is extremely frustrating! When (how) will it all end?