Larger Prints: Your PDFs in The Format You Want
After publishing score and parts in a US Letter format on Amazon, we are switching to A4 score and parts. Why? US Letter and A4 are the larger formats available on Amazon (KDP). However, they have different ratios, which is the height over the width: 1.29 for US Letter, 1.41 for A4, very close to the 1.42 of the B4 paper format, the most widely used paper format for music parts, since it perfectly sits on a professional music stand.
This means that the A4 page, which allows for a larger printing area (+4% compared to the US Letter), give the best option for printing in a larger scale: +18% for both height and width. In other words, if you want a larger score, you can ask as to resize your PDF to a full B4 page and have it printed, without leaving considerable empty strips, and with the maximum optimisation.
In the A4 score, a standard staff is 5,2 mm (0.205″) high, 7,4 mm (0.29″) in the parts. For a larger print (B4) with a +15% zoom, you’ll benefit from a 6 mm (2.36″) staff in the score, and a 8,5 mm (0.334″) in the parts. This way, the parts are very easy to read for all players, including strings players. A4 is ideal if you want to buy on Amazon and use a ready book to study (or perform), while PDFs are ideal if you want to print your score or parts in a different format according to the players (A4 for winds, B4 for strings and/or conductor).
| PROs | CONs | |
| A4 Score | Can be found on Amazon, easier to carry. | Smaller staves. |
| B4 Score (Conductor Score) | Larger staves, more convenient for live performance. | Needs to be printed and bound. |
| A4 Parts | Can be found on Amazon, easier to carry. If bought in PDF, can be printed separately. | The Amazon book needs to be prepared (parts separation). The staff is ideal for most players, not for all. |
| B4 Parts | Larger print, all players have bigger staves. Sits | Needs to be printed out and requires a full professional music stand. |
How to: A4 score and parts
A4 paper can be bought and used in home printers by any musician. The A4 Score can be purchased on Amazon, or printed and bound in any corner shop at a low cost. You can even print it at home and bind it act by act for convenience. A4 Parts can be emailed to musicians and printed separately. Since this page format will allow less staves than the B4, there will be more page turns and possibly some fold-out pages.
How to: B4 score and parts
B4 paper will require a professional printout. The B4 Score is larger and easier to follow, especially when you have to rely on a music stand light only. It is also easier to read from distance, when the conductor is standing and the music stand is lower. The B4 Parts are the perfect format for a professional music stand. They need to be printed by a larger printer (such as an A3 printer) or by a professional shop, thus ending up being more costly than the A4 ones. They allow more staves and less page turns, becoming essential when you have a single string player on the stand without an assistant turning the pages.
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