John, which Lilypond version are you using?
Since 1.3.31, the default page layout given by ly2dvi
should be very close to what you describe below.
You can change the left/right margins by setting
the paper variable 'linewidth' and the top/bottom margins
with 'textheight'. ly2dvi will center the music on the
page. I have already described in an earlier mail how to
change the paper size from A4 to e.g. letter size.
/Mats
> "How on earth can I get Lily to print something nicely, at the
> right position on the right paper size? "
>
> LilyPond, TeX and PostScript *all* have to make assumptions about
> paper size in order to work. Lily does her part if you use the
> paper block definitions provided, but the other two are less
> cooperative. TeX has a facility to pass on its size to dvips, but
> just try to find the documentation on it! And, as if that isn't
> enough, TeX and PostScript use conflicting definitions about
> where coordinate systems start from - TeX uses the upper left
> corner, PostScript the lower left.
>
> I want people to be able to print on either letter or A4 paper.
> Finally, with the help of the PostScript list, I found one method
> that seems to work reliably for everyone:
>
> In Lily, use
>
> linewidth=188.\mm;
>
> in your paper block, to ensure that the output fits in A4 width,
> then in a TeX 'envelope' file
> (cf. http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Studio/1714/lilypond.html)
> use
>
> \usepackage[letterpaper,dvips,left=11mm,width=188mm,
> top=-4mm, height=275mm,includemp=false]{geometry}
>
> With this, the excess width of letter paper appears on the right
> margin, the excess height of A4 on the top.
>
> My numbers result in tight margins, to minimize page turns -
> adjust the numbers until you get the look you prefer.
>
> John
