Margin mis-alignment when printing to PDF with Finale v25 (macOS)

There is a problem when printing to PDF using Finale for Mac that causes the margin alignment of the PDF to be off-center for some users. This is due to a margin mis-alignment in the non-printable area of page sizes that can sometimes have an adverse effect.

If you are experiencing this issue, please follow choose the option below that applies to you and then follow the steps to configure a page size that will help mitigate the issue:

You are using a hard-coded page value (Letter, Tabloid, A4, etc.)

If you are using a hard-coded page value, you will need to create a custom page size that emulates that paper size in order to adjust the printable margins manually. Here are the steps (we will use Letter size as an example):

1. Open the Finale file in question.
2. Choose File > Page Setup.
3. Choose the Manage Custom Sizes option from the Paper Size drop-down menu.
4. Click the "+" button in the lower, left-hand corner to add a custom page size.
5. Type the needed values in the Width and Height fields. The default is inches, so in this case "8.5" and then "11" respectively.
6. Then, in the four fields below, in the Non-Printable Area section, make sure all of the values match. You will notice in most cases that the values say something like ".25 in" all around, except for the Bottom field. Change the Bottom field value to match the other fields' values ("25 in." in this case).
7. Please feel free to rename the page size by clicking on the name in the column to the left, and then click OK when you are finished.
8. Click OK again to close the Page Setup dialog box.
9. Try printing.

If you have tried these steps, and you are still running into an issue with the alignment of the printed PDF, please contact Customer Success.

You are using a custom page size

If you are using a custom page size, you will need to change the Bottom margin value for the custom sizes Non-Printable Area.

1. Open the Finale file in question.
2. Choose File > Page Setup.
3. Choose the Manage Custom Sizes option from the Paper Size drop-down menu.
4. Select your custom page size from the left-hand column if it is not selected already.
5. You will notice that the margin value in the Bottom field of the Non-Printable Area section has a different value than the other three fields. Change this value to match the other three fields' values.
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK again to close the Page Setup dialog box.
8. Try printing.

If you have tried these steps, and you are still running into an issue with the alignment of the printed PDF, please contact Customer Success.