Richard Yates wrote:
> David Fenton wrote:
>
>>I think there's a major issue unresolved here:
>>
>
> Yes, at least one.
>
>
>>- Is this an engraving competition or an engraving software competition?
>>
>>That is, is the goal to find the best engraving or to find the best
>>engraving software?
>>
>>If the former, fonts should be entirely left up to the engraver.
>>
>
> Yes.
>
>
>>If the latter, then the fonts should be limited to the engraving software
>>defaults.
>>
>
> But this still will not prove much about the software. It arbitrarily draws
> a line that says 'These defaults cannot be changed, but these can.' I can
> change fonts as easily as I can change a stem length. A feature of software
> is the ability to substitute fonts - why handicap it by prohibiting use of
> this feature?
>
Because often simply changing the font can change the appearance enough
that an acceptable layout becomes more elegant. And that is purely a
function of what fonts an individual engraver has access to more than
the capabilities of the engraving software.
So a person with the proper fonts can copy a major publishing house such
as Henle or B&H or Peters, while a person equally skilled as an
engraver, using the same software, simply can't match the output.
Thus such a feature becomes more a test of what the engraver has
purchased/scrounged up/downloaded than a test of what the engraving
software can do.
Ideally, if this is to be a competition of software, there would be
people using the competing software as it comes out of the box, changing
those aspects of engraving only which require no additional purchases or
downloads. Otherwise it becomes a "my computer holds more tools than
your computer" competition. Which is fine if we are holding an engaver
competition -- the engraver who has the broadest array of tools to
fulfill the broadest array of client expectations and who is able to use
those tools to best advantage should win. But output from Sibelius
using only the default fonts shouldn't be compared to output from Finale
using after-market fonts, and vice-versa.
--
David H. Bailey
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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