It's a font issue. You need to use a PDF creation program (or use the setting on the one you have) that allows you to "embed fonts."

Thank you. Instead of using Mac's Preview, I got Adobe reader and opened one of my PDFs. It says that all fonts used are "embedded subsets":

So would this cover it on my end? (I should mention too that after sending thousands of PDFs over 6 years, this is the first font issue that has come to my attention.)

Jonathan Mann,

1) I suppose that for you the PDF file displayed (and printed) correctly on all pages (and not only on pages 1-2)?

2) You tell that you “printed” the Finale document to PDF.

Have you also tried creating PDF “the other way” (= use the Graphics Tool to Export Pages as PDF)?

It could not hurt to try it.

Yes, for me they have always printed fine. I hit command-p, save as PDF and I'm good to go.

Exporting from graphics tool resulted in a PDF with very poor resolution; the dialog box wouldn't allow for a sharper image:

… Exporting from graphics tool resulted in a PDF with very poor resolution; the dialog box wouldn't allow for a sharper image …

This is a misunderstanding - and I suspect that you did not try the PDF export (= you did not go beyond the dialog box shown in your screen shot, right?).

There is no such thing as resolution when you export as PDF.

Hence the Resolution pop up menu is greyed out in your screen shot.

When you export as PDF, you get a vector graphic (not a bitmap graphic).

In a vector graphic the image is described via mathematical formulas.

This means that the image will display and print at the highest possible resolution (quality), the actual screen/printer can produce.

You can resize a PDF to a big size (any size!) without getting jaggies.

On The Other Hand, in a bitmap graphic the image is described dot-by-dot: “This dot is black, this dot is white, …”

This also means that you get jaggies when you scale up a bitmap to a big size.

Resolution makes sense in a bitmap graphic.