Susan,

How are you creating the PDF? The recommended method is to use the Print PDF in the Mc OS, rather than from the Finale Print dialogue.

Printing in Finale 25 is way different than earlier versions. You need to go through the Help files to know all of your options. 

Without knowing how you are doing this, it's impossible to do anything other than guess. So, here's mine:

One of the many changes is that, in 25, the ability to generate small sized, true black .pdf files is gone from Print — both Mac OS and Finale's new Print Options. It is now found in Graphics/Export pages/pdf. Although Graphics/Export pages/pdf was introduced in 2014, one could still available through the Print menu — no longer.

Mike H is correct. I just haven't gotten the Graphics>Export workflow into my brain, yet!

Thank you, both!  I was using the print dialogue in Finale to create a pdf.

I really appreciate your help.  Since upgrading my OS, I have quite a learning curve not only in finale, but also in Dragon dictate.  Thankfully I enjoy learning, but I'd rather not be doing so under pressure to produce music for the bell choir for the  Christmas Eve service. New Years resolutions coming up! I just tried the graphics>export method.  I'm about to go  see if it worked.  The challenge there is that I am disabled and use a wheelchair.  I need to take a field trip to the office on another floor of the facility where I live to see what happened when I sent it.

Thanks again, both of you, for your help!

Suzy 

If you were able to create the file as it appears you were, it should do what you need.

Without going too far off topic, I understand both the wheelchair and Dragon issues intimately.

Before 25 was released, I spoke to one of the developers about resolving the conflict between Dragon (48kHz) and Finale (44.1kHz) and was glad to see them play nicely in 25. (Now, if I could get Dragon for Mac to work as advertised — but that's a different issue)

Alas, it did not come through properly-- oe note heads and scattered lyrics. For now I'm reverting to sending a PDF (finale print dialogue) file to one of my ringers.  It comes through for her, so she prints and copies it for the rest of us. This is a bandaid, not a solution. I'm not giving up !!

so, I'm not the only one who is struggling with Dragon for Mac. It's oddly reassuring. I can be a pit bull when it comes to untangling technology. 

I need to catch the bus to choir practice, but the finale battle will resume in the morning. Again, thank you! 

Suzy

It is still possible to create PDFs using the Finale print dialog window and I still do this if I don't remember to use the Graphics tool. The main difference I can see is the size: PDFs made via the Graphics menu are ½ - ⅓ the size of those made via the print dialog window. The previews of the Graphics PDFs seem slightly sharper. I've heard that the 100% black problem is solved when PDFs are made using the Graphics menu, although I haven't had complaints about this for a long time. In any case, I can't remember ever having the font embedding problems the OP mentions.

>PDFs made via the Graphics menu are ½ - ⅓ the size of those made via the print dialog >

That large? I find them even smaller but you are correct on this.

>The previews of the Graphics PDFs seem slightly sharper.<

That and the size are due to the fact that Graphics/Export produces true black instead of greyscale

>I  can't remember ever having the font embedding problems the OP mentions.<

Me neither but ... There have been a few complaints about this but no one ever takes us through the whole process so that those of us not experiencing this issue have a clue as to what is really happening with those who do.

Latest version 27.4, Windows 11. I create PDFs via the Print dialogue. I use Tungsten Power PDF. The fonts in the PDF are then subset embedded. I have Finale files with the default Maestro font (i.e. not Finale Maestro). Some special noteheads are written in November 2 (SMuFL font), some text elements in Finale Lyrics within enclosure shapes with circles. Everything looks correct on screen, but there are a few printers that do not print the noteheads and the Finale Lyrics characters. Unfortunately, among the printers that produce faulty printouts is, of all things, the printer used to produce the commercial scores. I have carried out tests with several printers at colleagues’ offices who do not have the fonts installed and do not have the Finale software. So, good test conditions. These are not old printers, and the operating systems on the machines used to print for me are up to date. Printing via export or the Graphics dialogue box does not seem to be any better, but it is not a viable alternative either due to large file sizes and (!) the need for full font embedding. Has anyone experienced something similar and have any helpful tips?

First of all, what happens if you use Finale's own PDF graphics Export, instead of "Tungsten Power"...

Secondly, this forum is pretty much dead. I'd recommend using finaleforum.com , which is the main user community website.

Thank you very much for your response. I’ve tested all the options, including exporting. On the printer that was having issues before, the results were even worse or just as bad. Exporting from Finale uses Microsoft Print to PDF and fully embeds the fonts, which is problematic anyway when sharing the PDF. I’ll check finaleforum.com for further assistance.