PCL 5 Printer LanguageTechnical

Reference Manual

HP Part No. 5961-0509

Printed in USA

First Edition - October 1992

Notice

This document contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard Company. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Printing History

This manual was created using HP Tag/Vectra software on an

HP Vectra Personal Computer. The body text is printed in Helvetica fonts. The camera-ready copy was printed on an HP LaserJet IIISi printer with Resolution Enhancement technology (REt) and was then reproduced using standard offset printing.

First Edition ??? October 1992

NOTICE

This document is the current edition of the technical reference manual for PCL 5 and earlier printers. It replaces the September 1990 edition of the HP PCL 5 Printer Language Technical Reference Manual (p/n 33459-90903). If you have ordered another PCL Technical Reference document, this manual and the PCL 5 Comparison Guide are the updated replacement documents.

Trademark Credits

Intellifont and Garth Graphic are U.S. registered trademarks of Agfa Division, Miles Inc. CG Triumvirate and Shannon are trademarks of Agfa Division, Miles Inc. CG Bodoni, CG Century Schoolbook, CG

Goudy Old Style, CG Melliza, Microstyle, CG Omega, CG Palacio,

CG Times and CG Trump Mediaeval are products of Agfa Division, Miles Inc. CG Times, a product of Agfa Division, Miles Inc., is based on Times New Roman, a U.S. registered trademark of Monotype Corporation plc. PCL, and Vectra are U.S. registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company. Resolution Enhancement is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, and MS-DOS are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. TrueType and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. Centronics is a U.S. registered trademark of Centronics Corporation. ITC Avant Garde Gothic, ITC Benguiat, ITC Bookman,

ITC Cheltenham, ITC Galliard, ITC Korinna, ITC Lubalin Graph, ITC

Souvenir, ITC Zapf Chancery and ITC Zapf Dingbats are U.S. registered trademarks of International Typeface Corporation. ITC Tiffany is a trademark of International Typeface Corporation. Futura is a U.S. registered trademark of Fundicion Tipografica Neufville, S.A. Serifa is a trademark of Fundicion Tipografica Neufville, S.A. Letraset is a registered trademark of Esselte Pendaflex Corporation. Revue and University Roman are trademarks of Esselte Pendaflex Corporation. Helvetica and Times Roman are trademarks of Linotype AG and its subsidiaries. Univers is a U.S. registered trademark of Linotype AG and its subsidiaries. Antique Olive is a trademark of Monsieur Marcel OLIVE. Arial and Gill Sans are registered trademarks of The Monotype Corporation plc.

Inside This Manual

What You Can Learn From This Manual

Hewlett-Packard has developed a standard set of printer features for use in all HP printers. Printer features are accessed through the corresponding commands of Hewlett-Packard???s PCL language. This manual describes the PCL 5 printer language. This includes descriptions of the commands available for Hewlett-Packard PCL 5 LaserJet printers and the basic requirements of PCL language programming. With the release of new LaserJet family printers there are new features added which supplement the existing PCL base set. Features of future printer releases are not covered in this document. The new features are described in the latest version of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide. Programmers should familiarize themselves with the information provided in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide in addition to the information in this document.

Experienced Users

This manual was written for people with some programming experience. Many of the concept discussions assume some programming knowledge.

When writing a PCL language program, you should know the PCL language concepts and commands presented in this manual, and should be aware of the differences in implementation of the PCL 5 printer language for the various HP LaserJet printers, as described in

the PCL 5 Comparison Guide.

Non-technical Users

Many software applications (word processing software, spreadsheets, etc.) allow you to embed printer commands as escape sequences in the body of your documents. This manual presents the full syntax and explanation of all the commands supported by PCL 5 LaserJet printers. These commands enable you to take advantage of the LaserJet printer???s advanced feature set.

Chapter Summaries

A brief description of each chapter is provided below.

Chapter 1 - Introduction to HP PCL

This chapter gives a brief history of the development of the PCL language, describes the PCL language levels (architecture), and describes the PCL command structure (control codes and escape sequences).

Chapter 2 - The Page

This chapter introduces the idea of the logical page and identifies the area in which printing can occur. It also describes the PCL coordinate system and the HP-GL/2 picture frame.

Chapter 3 - The Print Environment

This chapter introduces the printer???s feature settings, collectively, as the print environment. It includes descriptions of the factory default environment, user default environment, and the modified print environment. The effect of printer reset functions is also described.

Chapter 4 - PCL Job Control Commands

This chapter describes the commands which provide job control. Job control commands are usually grouped together and sent at the beginning of a job. Job control includes restoration of the User Default Environment, selection of the number of copies of each page to be printed, duplex print commands, and unit of measure specification.

Chapter 5 - Page Control Commands

This chapter describes the commands providing page format control. Page format control allows you to select the page source, size, orientation, margins, and text spacing.

Chapter 6 - Cursor Positioning

This chapter describes how to position the cursor within the logical page.

Chapter 7 - Fonts

This chapter describes basic font information including font characteristics.

Chapter 8 - PCL Font Selection

This chapter describes how to select a font for printing using the font characteristics commands. The underline feature is described at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 9 - Font Management

This chapter describes font management which provides mechanisms for downloading and manipulating soft fonts.

Chapter 10 - User-Defined Symbol Sets

This chapter describes the capability of some PCL 5 printers to enable users to define their own symbol sets for special needs.

Chapter 11 - Soft Font Creation

This chapter describes how to organize font/character data for downloading to the printer.

Chapter 12 - Macros

This chapter describes macro commands which store a block of PCL commands and data which can be used repeatedly without redefining the block. The macro function reduces the number of commands that must be sent to the printer.

Chapter 13 - The PCL Print Model

This chapter describes the PCL print model which allows for special effects when printing.

Chapter 14 - PCL Rectangular Area Fill Graphics

This chapter describes how to define and fill a rectangular area with one of the predefined PCL patterns, or with a user-defined pattern.

Chapter 15 - Raster Graphics

This chapter describes how to download raster graphics to the printer, and includes various techniques for reducing the amount of data needed to define the raster image.

Chapter 16 - Status Readback

This chapter describes the PCL status readback features. Status readback enables you to obtain PCL status information from the printer, such as: available printer (user) memory, a list of fonts and symbol sets, and the ID numbers of macros and user-defined patterns.

Chapter 17 - An Introduction to HP-GL/2 Vector Graphics

This chapter introduces basic information for HP-GL/2. It lists the vector graphics commands, and describes the HP-GL/2 command syntax. An overview of several important topics is also provided, such as the PCL Picture Frame concept, scaling, pen status and location, and absolute vs. relative pen movement.

Chapter 18 - The Picture Frame

This chapter describes how to set up an area on the page for printing vector graphics (the PCL Picture Frame). It discuses the commands necessary to define and position the picture frame, along with the commands used to enter and exit HP-GL/2 mode.

Chapter 19 - The Configuration and Status Group

This chapter describes the commands used to set default conditions and values for programmable HP-GL/2 features. It also explains the commands used for scaling, establishing a soft-clip window, and rotating the HP-GL/2 coordinate system.

Chapter 20 - The Vector Group

This chapter provides information about pen movement and drawing lines, arcs, and circles. It also covers a way to encode coordinates for increased print speed.

Chapter 21 - The Polygon Group

This chapter explains the polygon mode and how it is used to draw polygons, subpolygons and circles. The commands for drawing and filling wedges and rectangles are also described in this chapter.

Chapter 22 - The Line and Fill Attributes Group

This chapter describes the commands used to vary the line types and fill patterns used to create HP-GL/2 graphics.

Chapter 23 - The Character Group

This chapter contains information about the commands used to print text (labels) in HP-GL/2 mode. This allows you to print HP-GL/2 labels in almost any size, slant and direction using proportional or fixed-spaced scalable fonts.

Chapter 24 - Programming Hints

This chapter provides programming information for use during the development of PCL software.

Related Documentation

The following related manuals provide further information about

HP LaserJet printers, including their features and functions.

PCL 5 Comparison Guide

This document contains supplemental information for programming PCL 5 LaserJet printers. It identifies how different HP PCL 5 LaserJet printers implement the commands described in the HP PCL 5 Printer Language Technical Reference Manual. It provides printer-specific information on feature sets, paper handling, fonts, and the printer???s control panel.

Intellifont Scalable Typeface Format

This document provides information for designing scalable fonts using Agfa???s Font Access Interchange Standard (FAIS). This document can be obtained from Agfa Division, Miles Inc. by writing to the address below or by phone.

Agfa Division, Miles Inc. Typographic Systems OEM Technical Support 90 Industrial Way Wilmington, MA 01887 (508) 658-5600

TrueType Font Files

This document, which provides information for designing scalable fonts using Microsoft Corporation???s TrueType font scaling technology has been made available in downloadable form on both CompuServe and Internet. Contact Microsoft Corporation for details.

Contents

Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Printing History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Trademark Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Inside This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v What You Can Learn From This Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Related Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

PCL 5 Comparison Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

Intellifont Scalable Typeface Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

TrueType Font Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

Introduction to HP PCL

PCL Printer Language Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-2 What are Printer Commands?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3 Control Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3 PCL Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3 HP-GL/2 Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-4 PJL Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-4 Syntax of Escape Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-5 Two-Character Escape Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-5 Parameterized Escape Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-6

The Page

Logical Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-2

Printed Dots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3

PCL Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4

Units of the PCL Coordinate System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5

PCL Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5

Decipoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5

Columns & Rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5

Printer Internal Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5

HP-GL/2 Picture Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-6

Printable Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-7

The Print Environment

Factory Default Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-2

User Default Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-6

Modified Print Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-7

Resetting the Print Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-8

Printer Reset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-8

Cold Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-9

PCL Job Control Commands

Printer Reset Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-2

Universal Exit Language Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-3

Number of Copies Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-4

Simplex/Duplex Print Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5

Left Offset Registration Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-7

Top Offset Registration Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-8

Duplex Page Side Selection Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-10

Job Separation Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-11

Output Bin Selection Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-12

Unit of Measure Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-13

Page Control Commands

Page Size Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-2

PAPER SOURCE COMMAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-4

Logical Page Orientation Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-5

Print Direction Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-9

Text Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-11

Left Margin Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-13

Right Margin Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-14

Clear Horizontal Margins Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-15

Top Margin Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-16

Text Length Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-18

Perforation Skip Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-19

Horizontal Motion Index (HMI) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-20

Vertical Motion Index (VMI) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-22

Common VMI Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-23

Line Spacing Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-24

Cursor Positioning

Absolute vs. Relative Cursor Positioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-2 Cursor Positioning Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3 PCL Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3 Decipoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-4 Columns & Rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-4 Horizontal Cursor Positioning (Columns) Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-5 Horizontal Cursor Positioning (Decipoints) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-6 Horizontal Cursor Positioning (PCL Units) Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Horizontal Cursor Positioning Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-8 CR - Carriage Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-8 SP - Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-8 BS - Backspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-9 HT - Horizontal Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-9 Vertical Cursor Positioning (Rows) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-10 Vertical Cursor Positioning (Decipoints) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-11 Vertical Cursor Positioning (PCL Units) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-12 Half-Line Feed Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-13 Vertical Cursor Positioning Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-13 LF - Line Feed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-13 FF - Form Feed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-13

Line Termination Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-14 Push/Pop Cursor Position Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-15

Fonts

Font Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-2

Symbol Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-3

Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-4

Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-5

Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-5

Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-6

Stroke Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-6

Typeface Family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-7

Orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-8

Bitmap Fonts and Scalable Typefaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-9

Internal Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-11

Special Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-11

PCL Font Selection

Primary and Secondary Fonts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-5 Font Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-5 Symbol Set Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-6 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-7 7-bit ISO Symbol Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-8 Spacing Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Pitch Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-10 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-11 Height Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-13 Style Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-14 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-15 Stroke Weight Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-16 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-17 Typeface Family Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-18 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-19 Orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-20 Font Selection Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-21 Bitmap, Fixed-Spaced Font. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-21 Scalable, Proportional-Spaced Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-22 Summary of Font Selection by Characteristic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-23 Font Selectionby ID Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-26 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-27 Select Default Font Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-27 HP-GL/2 Font Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-27 Transparent Print Data Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-28 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-28 Underline Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-29

Font Management

Downloading Soft Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-2 Temporary vs. Permanent Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-3 Deleting Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-3 Font ID Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-4 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-4 Font Control Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-5 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-5 Font Management Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-7 Unbound Scalable Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-8 Bound and Unbound Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-8 Font Selection and Unbound Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-8

Underline Position (Distance) (SB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-29

Underline Thickness (UB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-29

Text Height (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-29

Text Width (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-29

First Code (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-30

Last Code / Number of Characters (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-30

Pitch Extended (UB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-30

Height Extended (UB). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-31

Cap Height (UI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-31

Font Number (ULI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-32

Font Name (ASC16) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-33

X Resolution (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-33

Y Resolution (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-34

Scale Factor (UI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-34

Master Underline Position (SI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-34

Master Underline Thickness (Height) (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-34

Font Scaling Technology (UB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-34

Variety (UB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-35

OR Threshold (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-35

Global Italic Angle (SI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-35

Global Intellifont Data Size (UI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-35

Global Intellifont Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-35

Character Complement (Array of UB). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-35

Checksum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-39

Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-39

Segmented Font Data (Format 15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-39

Font Header Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-43

Character Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-48

Character Code Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-49

Character Definition Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-50

Character Descriptor Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-51

Character Descriptor and Data Format for PCL Bitmap Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . .11-51

Character Descriptor and Data Format for Intellifont Scalable Fonts . . . . . . .11-60

Character Descriptor and Data Format for TrueType Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-65

Character Definition Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-70

Macros

Macro Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-3

Macro Invocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-4

Temporary / Permanent Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-5

Deleting Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-6

Macro ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-6

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-6

Macro Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-7

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-8

Macro Control Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-9

The PCL Print Model

Command Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-5

Source Transparency Mode Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-6

Pattern Transparency Mode Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-7

Pattern ID (Area Fill ID) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-8

Select Current Pattern Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-12

User-Defined Pattern Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-13

User-Defined Pattern Implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-13

User-Defined Pattern Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-16

Format (Byte 0). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-17

Continuation (Byte 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-17

Pixel Encoding (Byte 2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-17

Reserved (Byte 3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-18

Height in Pixels (Bytes 4 and 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-18

Width in Pixels (Bytes 6 and 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-18

Pattern Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-18

Master X Resolution (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-18

Master Y Resolution (UI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-18

User-defined Pattern Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-19

Set Pattern Reference Point Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-22

Pattern Control Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-23

PCL Rectangular Area Fill Graphics

Rectangular Area Fill Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-1 Horizontal Rectangle Size (Decipoints) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-3 Horizontal Rectangle Size (PCL Units) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-3 Vertical Rectangle Size (Decipoints) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-4 Vertical Rectangle Size (PCL Units) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-4 Pattern ID (Area Fill ID) Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-5 Fill Rectangular Area Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-9 Pattern Transparency for Rectangular Area Fill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-11 Rectangular Area Fill Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-13

Pre-defined Pattern Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-13 User-defined Pattern Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-17

Raster Graphics

Raster Graphics Command Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-4

Raster Graphics Resolution Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-6

Raster Graphics Presentation Mode Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-8

Raster Height Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-11

Raster Width Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-13

Start Raster Graphics Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-14

Raster Y Offset Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-15

Set Compression Method Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-16

Unencoded (Method 0) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-16

Run-length Encoding (Method 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-16

Tagged Image File Format Encoding (Method 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-17

Delta Row Compression (Method 3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-20

Example: Delta Row Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-24

Adaptive Compression (Method 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-25

Transfer Raster Data Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-29

End Raster Graphics Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-30

Raster Graphics Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-31

Status Readback

Memory Status Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-2

Entity Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-3

Status Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-5

Status Response Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-6

Set Status Readback Location Type Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-8

Set Status Readback Location Unit Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-9

Inquire Status Readback Entity Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-10

Entity Status Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-11

Font Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-11

Font Extended Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-15

Macro Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-16

User-Defined Pattern Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-17

Symbol Set Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-18

Entity Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-19

Free Space Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-21

Memory Status Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-22

Memory Error Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-23

Flush All Pages Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-24

Echo Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-25

Echo Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-26

Status Readback Programming Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-27

An Introduction to HP-GL/2 Vector Graphics

Learning HP-GL/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-2 HP-GL/2 Commands and Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-3 Understanding HP-GL/2 Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-6 Notations Used to Express Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-8 Omitting Optional Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-9 Parameter Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-10 Using HP-GL/2 With Programming Languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-13 Example:BASIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-13 Example:C Programming Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-14 The HP-GL/2 Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-15 HP-GL/2 & PCL Orientation Interactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-17 The Vector Graphics Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-19 HP-GL/2 Units of Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-20 Plotter Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-20 User-units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-20 Pen Status and Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-21 Pen Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-21 Pen Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-23 Scaling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-24 Absolute and Relative Pen Movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-25

The Picture Frame

Defining the Image Area(PCL Picture Frame). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-2 Automatically Adjusting Image Size to Fit the PCL Picture Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-3 Creating a Page Size-Independent Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-3 Typical HP-GL/2 PlotCommand Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-5 Horizontal Picture Frame Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-8 Example:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-9 Vertical Picture Frame Size (Decipoints) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-9 Example:To specify a vertical picture frame size of 6.5 inches, send: . . . . . . .18-9 Set Picture Frame Anchor Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-10 Example:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-10 HP-GL/2 Plot Horizontal Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-11 Example:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-11 HP-GL/2 Plot Vertical Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-12 Example:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-12 Enter HP-GL/2 Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-13 Example:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-13 Enter PCL Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-14 Example:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-14 Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-15

The Configuration and Status Group

Establishing Default Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-3 The Scaling Points P1 and P2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-4 Using the Scale Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-4 Using Scaling Effectively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-8 Enlarging or Reducing a Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-8 Drawing Equal-Size Pictures on a Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-10 Creating Mirror-Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-12 Adapting the HP-GL/2 Coordinate System to Match the PCL System . . . . . .19-15 Windowing: Setting Up Soft-Clip Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-18 CO, Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-19 DF, Default Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-19 IN, Initialize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-21 IP, Input P1 and P2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-23 IR, Input Relative P1 and P2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-26 IW, Input Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-29 PG, Advance Full Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-33 RO, Rotate Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-34 Angle of Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-34 RP, Replot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-39 SC, Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-40 For Scaling Types 0 and 1: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-41 For Scaling Type 2: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-44

The Vector Group

Drawing Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-2

Drawing Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-4

Drawing Arcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-5

Angle of Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-7

Drawing Bezier Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-8

AA, Arc Absolute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-9

AR, Arc Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-13

AT, Absolute Arc Three Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-16

BR, Bezier Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-19

BZ, Bezier Absolute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-22

CI, Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-25

PA, Plot Absolute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-30

PD, Pen Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-31

PE, Polyline Encoded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-34

Encoding PE Flag Values and X,Y Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-37

Example: Using the PE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-41

PR, Plot Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-44

U, Pen Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-46

RT, Relative Arc Three Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-48

The Polygon Group

Using the Polygon Buffer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-2 Drawing Rectangles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-3 Drawing Wedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-6 Drawing Polygons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-10 Drawing Subpolygons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-11 Filling Polygons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-12 Drawing Circles in Polygon Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-14 `Approximating Polygon Buffer Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-14 Counting the Points in a Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-15 Counting the Points in a Circle or Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-16 EA, Edge Rectangle Absolute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-17 EP, Edge Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-21 ER, Edge Rectangle Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-23 EW, Edge Wedge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-27 FP, Fill Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-31 PM, Polygon Mode Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-34 (PM0) or (PM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-34 (PM1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-36 (PM2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-37 RA, Fill Rectangle Absolute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-39 RR, Fill Rectangle Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-42 WG, Fill Wedge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-45

The Line and Fill Attributes Group

Using Line Attributes and Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-2

Using Fill Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-4

Selecting a ???Pen??? and Changing Line Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-5

AC, Anchor Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-6

FT, Fill Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-9

LA, Line Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-15

Line Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-17

Line Joins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-17

Miter Limi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-19

LT, Line Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-22

PW, Pen Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-29

RF, Raster Fill Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-32

SM, Symbol Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-35

SP, Select Pen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-38

SV, Screened Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-39

TR, Transparency Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-42

UL, User-Defined Line Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-44

WU, Pen Width Unit Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-46

SR, Relative Character Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-81

Example:Using the SR Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-83

SS, Select Standard Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-85

TD, Transparent Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-86

Programming Hints

PCL Command Parsing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-2

Job Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-3

Printer Reset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-3

PCL Page Control 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-4

Paper Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-4

Page Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-4

Text Area/Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-4

HMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-4

PCL Cursor Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-5

Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-5

PCL Raster Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-7

Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-8

HP-GL/2 Vector Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-9

Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-10

PCL Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-10

Print Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-10

Print Overrun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-10

Page Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-10

I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-11

Troubleshooting Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-12

End-of-Line Wrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-12

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-12

Display Functions Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-12

Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-13

Auto Continue Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-14

Common Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-15

20 ERROR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-15

21 ERROR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-15

22 ERROR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-15

40 ERROR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-15

Customer Support

Help From Your Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customer Support-1 Help From Your Dealer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customer Support-1 Help from HP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customer Support-1

Index

1 Introduction to

HP PCL

PCL PRINTER LANGUAGE HISTORY

Hewlett-Packard created the PCL printer language (simply referred to as ???PCL??? elsewhere in this manual) to provide an economical and efficient way for application programs to control a range of printer features across a number of printing devices. HP has evolved both the definition and implementations of PCL to provide the optimal price and performance balance. PCL 5 represents a new breakthrough in price/performance leadership. Its features were selected in direct response to customer requests. HP will continue to lead enhancements to the PCL printer language to deliver powerful technology advances.

PCL commands are compact escape sequence codes that are embedded in the print job data stream. This approach minimizes both data transmission and command decoding overhead.

HP PCL formatters and fonts are designed to quickly translate application output into high-quality, device-specific, raster print images.

PCL printer language commonality from HP printer to HP printer helps to minimize printer support problems and protect HP printer customer investment in applications and printer driver software.

PCL Printer Language Architecture

PCL printer language structure has been useful to guide language functionality growth and command syntax definition. The PCL printer language has evolved through five major levels of functionality driven by the combination of printer technology developments, changing user needs, and application software improvements. The five phases of the PCL printer language evolution are:

The PCL printer language model succeeds because the following points are observed:

zAll HP LaserJet printers implement PCL printer language features consistently.

zHP printers implement the above language feature groups in very cost-effective formatters.

zHP printers have the ability to ignore most unsupported commands.

What are Printer Commands?

PCL printer commands provide access to printer features. There are four general types of HP printer language commands:

z control codes

z PCL commands

z HP-GL/2 commands z PJL commands

HP-GL/2 Commands

HP-GL/2, vector graphic commands are two letter mnemonic codes designed to remind you of the function name (such as IN for Initialize). Following the two letter mnemonic may be one or more parameters, which identify details of how to process the command. For additional information on HP-GL/2 commands, refer to Chapters 17 through 23.

PJL Commands

PJL (Printer Job Language) commands provide a different type of printer control. Unlike PCL and HP-GL/2, which control the placement of dots on the printed page, PJL supplies job-level control. One of the main features PJL offers is the ability to switch printer languages (personalities) between jobs. For example, applications supporting PJL can print one job using PCL, and then print the next job using PostScript or another printer language, without any operator intervention.

PJL also provides two-way communications with the printer. For example, PJL can request information from the printer such as printer model, configuration, printer status, and job status. PJL also can be used to change the printer???s control panel settings and modify the message displayed on the control panel.

The PJL language is designed to be used by application developers and technical support personnel only.

Syntax of Escape Sequences

There are two forms of PCL escape sequences: two-character escape sequences and parameterized escape sequences.

Two-Character Escape Sequences

Two-character escape sequences have the following form:

? X

where ???X??? is a character that defines the operation to be performed. ???X??? may be any character from the ASCII table within the range 48-126 decimal (???0??? through ???~??? - see Appendix A). For a list of the two-character escape sequences supported by the printer, refer to the ???PCL Feature Support Matrix??? in Chapter 1 of thePCL 5 Comparison

Guide.

Following are examples of two-character escape sequences:

?E a two-character escape sequence used for resetting the printer.

?9 a two-character escape sequence used for resetting the left and right margins to the printer???s default settings.

Parameterized Escape Sequences

Parameterized escape sequences have the following form:

? X y z1 # z2 # z3 ... # Zn[data]

where y, #, zi (z1, z2, z3...) and [data] may be optional, depending on the command.

XParameterized Character - A character from the ASCII table within the range 33-47 decimal

(???!??? through ???/???) indicating that the escape sequence is parameterized.

yGroup Character - A character from the ASCII table within the range 96-126 decimal (?????? ??? through ???~ ???) that specifies the group type of control being performed.

#Value Field - A group of characters specifying a numeric value. The numeric value is represented as an ASCII string of characters within the range 48-57

decimal (???0??? through ???9???) that may be preceded by a ???+??? or ????????? sign and may contain a fractional portion

indicated by the digits after a decimal point (???. ???). Numeric value fields are within the range -32767 to 65535. If an escape sequence requires a value field and a value is not specified, a value of zero is assumed.

The following is an example of an escape sequence with a termination character and no parameter character. This escape sequence performs a single function.

Notice that the ???????and the ???&l???are dropped from the second printer command when the two commands are combined. Also, the upper-case ???O??? that terminated the first command becomes a lower-case ???o??? parameter character when these commands are combined.

Use these three rules to combine and shorten printer commands:

1The first two characters after ??????? (the parameterized and group character) must be the same in all of the commands to be combined. In the example above, these are ???&??? and ???l???.

2All alphabetic characters within the combined printer command are lower-case, except the final letter which is always upper-case. In the combined example above, ???O??? becomes ???o???. The final character in the printer command must always be upper-case to let the printer know that the command is complete.

3The printer commands are performed in the order that they are combined (from left to right). Be sure to combine commands in the order that they are to be performed.

2 The Page

Introduction

This chapter describes the PCL coordinate system. It defines the logical page and the printable area; it introduces the HP-GL/2

(vector graphics) picture frame, and identifies the boundaries of each.

Logical Page

The PCL logical page (also referred to as the PCL addressable area) defines the area in which the PCL cursor can be positioned. Although the printer does not actually have a cursor (like the blinking underline character used on most computer terminals), the cursor position refers to the Currently Active Position of the cursor (also referred to as the CAP). The location of the ???cursor??? is the position on the logical page where the next character will be positioned. The cursor can be moved to different points on the logical page using the cursor positioning commands (see Chapter 6, Cursor Positioning). The PCL cursor cannot be moved outside of the logical page bounds.

The size of the logical page for the media (paper, transparencies, labels, etc.) is defined in Table 2-1 and Table 2-2.

Printed Dots

The high quality output achieved by HP LaserJet printers is due in part to the ability to lay down a fine grid of ???dots??? on the page. The density of this grid is referred to as the printer???s resolution. From the first HP LaserJet (the ???LaserJet Classic???) until recently, all

HP LaserJet family printers printed at a resolution of 300 dots-per-inch. In a one inch square, the printer could print a dot anywhere in a grid of up to 300 dots horizontally by 300 dots vertically, for a total of 90,000 possible dot locations per square inch (300 ?? 300 = 90,000).

The LaserJet 4 printer is capable of printing at either 300 or 600 dpi resolution. At 600 dots-per-inch, it becomes possible to print up to 360,000 dots per square inch (600 x 600 = 360,000). Print resolution of LaserJet 4 is selectable and can be specified either from the printer???s control panel or programmed through PJL commands.

PCL Coordinate System

The PCL coordinate system is defined as shown in Figure 2-2.

Units of the PCL Coordinate System

The units of the X-axis of the PCL coordinate system may be PCL Units, decipoints, or columns. The units of the Y-axis may be PCL Units, decipoints, or rows.

Decipoints

In PCL terminology, a decipoint is 1/720 inch or one-tenth of a

PCL point (a PCL point is 1/72 inch as opposed to a typographic point which is 1/72 inch).

Columns & Rows

The width of a column is defined by the current horizontal motion index (HMI). The distance between rows is defined by the current vertical motion index (VMI), or lines-per-inch (lpi). HMI, VMI and lpi are described in Chapter 5, Page Control Commands.

Printer Internal Units

Internally, the printer uses a different unit of measure. It maps PCL Units, decipoints, and columns and rows to this unit of measure. This internal unit is 1/7200 inch. All positioning is kept in internal units and rounded to physical dot positions when data is printed.

HP-GL/2 Picture Frame

In addition to text and raster graphics, HP-GL/2 vector graphics can be placed on the PCL logical page. HP-GL/2 vector graphics are incorporated using the concept of the HP-GL/2 picture frame (see Figure 2-3). Within this picture frame, HP-GL/2 uses its own coordinate system and units of measure. The HP-GL/2 coordinate system and units are described in detail in Chapter 17, An Introduction to HP-GL/2 Vector Graphics, and Chapter 18, The

Picture Frame.

Figure 2-3 PCL Logical Page with HP-GL/2 Picture Frame

Printable Area

The printable area is the area of the physical page in which the printer is able to place a dot. The physical page refers to the size of the media (letter, legal, etc.) installed in the printer.

The relationship between physical page, logical page, default picture frame, and printable area is defined in Table 2-1 and Table 2-2.

Table 2-1 Portrait Logical Page & Printable Area Boundaries

Table 2-2 Landscape Logical Page & Printable Area Boundaries

The HP LaserJet printers perform pixel-level clipping. When printing characters or graphics, if any portion of the character cell or graphic is outside the printable area, only that portion outside the printable area is clipped (see Figure 2-4).

3 The Print

Environment

Factory Default Environment

A factory default is a feature setting programmed into the printer at the factory. The group of all of the printer???s feature settings set to their factory settings is referred to as the Factory Default Environment. These features are described in this manual. Since the HP-GL/2 features are used for HP-GL/2 operation only, the print environment features are separated, for convenience, into two lists or contexts: PCL and HP-GL/2. Table 3-1 lists typical PCL print environment features, and Table 3-2 lists typical HP-GL/2 print environment features.

1.The font characteristics are determined by the default font. The default font can be the factory default font or the user-selected default font from the printer???s control panel or from a font cartridge containing a default font.

2.User default values may be selected by the user from the printer???s control panel for these items.

3.Selectable from the printer control panel if duplex is selected.

4.Selectable from the printer???s control panel if a fixed-space scalable font has been selected as the user default.

5.Selectable from the printer???s control panel if a proportional scalable font has been selected as the user default.

Table 3-1 Factory Default Print Environment Features ??? PCL Context (continued)

1.The font characteristics are determined by the default font. The default font can be the factory default font or the user-selected default font from the printer???s control panel or from a font cartridge containing a default font.

2.User default values may be selected by the user from the printer???s control panel for these items.

3.Selectable from the printer control panel if duplex is selected.

4.Selectable from the printer???s control panel if a fixed-space scalable font has been selected as the user default.

5.Selectable from the printer???s control panel if a proportional scalable font has been selected as the user default.

Table 3-1 Factory Default Print Environment Features ??? PCL Context (continued)

1.The font characteristics are determined by the default font. The default font can be the factory default font or the user-selected default font from the printer???s control panel or from a font cartridge containing a default font.

2.User default values may be selected by the user from the printer???s control panel for these items.

3.Selectable from the printer control panel if duplex is selected.

4.Selectable from the printer???s control panel if a fixed-space scalable font has been selected as the user default.

5.Selectable from the printer???s control panel if a proportional scalable font has been selected as the user default.

Table 3-2 Factory Default Print Environment Features ???

HP-GL/2 Context

Modified Print Environment

The current printer feature settings constitute the Modified Print Environment. Whenever a feature setting is altered using escape sequences, the new setting is recorded in the Modified Print Environment.

The Modified Print Environment is saved during a macro call or overlay and restored upon its completion.

A Modified Print Environment consists of the current settings for the items listed in Table 3-1 and Table 3-2, with the exception of the items listed in Table 3-3, below.

Resetting the Print Environment

Resets are used to return the printer to a known environment. Depending on the type of reset performed, the printer returns to either the User Default Environment or the Factory Default Environment.

command, and also enters PJL Mode of operation for printers that support PJL (refer to ???Universal Exit Language Command??? in Chapter 4 for more information). The ECE command should be included to ensure backward compatibility (the UEL command is ignored if received by a printer that does not support PJL).

Cold Reset

A Cold Reset restores the Factory Default Environment which includes resetting the control panel items to their factory default settings. A Cold Reset is performed by power cycling the printer while holding [ON LINE] until a 08 COLD RESET is displayed.

4 PCL Job Control

Commands

Introduction

A job typically consists of three parts:

zCommands providing job control.

zCommands providing page control.

zPrint data.

Table 4-1 Structure of a Typical Job

1.If a number of consecutive pages within a job have the same format (such as margins, VMI, HMI, etc.), the associated page control commands only need to be sent once for that group of pages.

This chapter describes the commands providing job control. Job control commands are usually grouped together and sent at the beginning of a job. Page control commands and data are associated with each printed page of a job. Job control commands include the following:

zPrinter Reset.

zUniversal End of Language/Start of PJL.

zNumber of Copies.

zSimplex/Duplex Print.

zLeft and Top Offset Registration.

zDuplex Page Side Selection.

zJob Separation.

zOutput Bin Selection.

zUnit of Measure.

Printer Reset Command

Universal Exit Language Command

The Universal Exit Language (UEL) command causes the PCL printer language to shut down and exit. Control is then returned to the Printer Job Language (PJL). Both PCL 5 and HP-GL/2 recognize this command.

? % ??? 1 2 3 4 5 X

The UEL Command (?%???12345X) has the same effect as the ? E command, and also enters PJL Mode of operation for printers that support PJL. The ? E command should be included to ensure backward compatibility (the UEL command is ignored if received by a printer that does not support PJL).

Number of Copies Command

The Number of Copies command designates the number of printed copies of each page.

? & l # X

#= Number of copies (1 to 32767 maximum)

Default = 1 (Configurable from control panel)

Range = 1-32767

(Values 32767 execute as 32767 values 1 are ignored. Maximum number of copies=99 for LaserJet II, IIP, III, IIID, IIIP and earlier LaserJet printers.)

This command can be received anywhere within a page and affects the current page as well as subsequent pages.

Example

To print 3 copies of a page, send:

?&l3X

Simplex/Duplex Print Command

This command designates either simplex or duplex printing mode for duplex printers. Simplex mode prints an image on only one side of a sheet (page). Duplex mode prints images on both sides of a sheet.

? & l # S

Figure 4-2 Long-Edge Binding Mode

Figure 4-3 Short-Edge Binding Mode

Left Offset Registration Command

The Left (long-edge) Offset Registration command designates the position of the logical page across the width (short side) of the physical page. This command can be used to adjust the text position on the page to allow additional room for the page binding.

? & l # U

The registration commands may cause data loss by moving the logical page outside the printable area.

This command has the same effect regardless of orientation.

This command can be used in both simplex and duplex modes.

Top Offset Registration Command

The Top (short-edge) Offset Registration command designates the position of the logical page along the length (long side) of the physical page.

? & l # Z

The registration command may cause data loss by moving the logical page outside the printable area.

This command has the same effect regardless of orientation.

This command can be used in both simplex and duplex modes.

Figure 4-4 Short-Edge Binding Mode Offsets

Figure 4-5 Long-Edge Binding Mode Offsets

Duplex Page Side Selection Command

The Duplex Page Side Selection command causes a Form Feed and designates which side of the sheet to print.

The ability to skip a page while duplexing may be required at certain locations in a document. For example, a chapter typically begins on the front side of a page.

?&a#G

# = 0 - Select next side 1 - Select front side 2 - Select back side

Default = 0

Range = 0-2 (All other values ignored)

If this command is received by a printer which does not have duplex or if duplexing is not enabled, these commands just eject the current page (sheet), positioning the cursor at the default position on the next page.

Example

To print on the front side of a page, regardless of the current side, send the following:

?&a1G

In this example, if the printer is currently formatting a front side, it will stop formatting, eject that page (sheet, skipping the back side), and begin printing on the next front page.

Job Separation Command

Job separation provides a means of identifying one print job from others in the printer???s output tray. It usually does this by physically offsetting one print job from the next.

The Job Separation command toggles the printer???s separation mechanism. This command must be sent between each job to enable the separation mechanism.

? & l 1 T

Output Bin Selection Command

The Output Bin Selection command selects either of the two output paper bins (upper or lower [rear]) for paper output.

? & l # G

Unit of Measure Command

The Unit of Measure command establishes the unit of measure for PCL Unit cursor movements.

The value field defines the number of units-per-inch used in the following commands:

zVertical Cursor Position (PCL Units).

zHorizontal Cursor Position (PCL Units).

zVertical Rectangle Size (PCL Units).

zHorizontal Rectangle Size (PCL Units).

In addition, the current unit of measure setting affects the HMI setting, which in turn determines how cursor movement values are rounded. This affects the result of the following commands:

zHorizontal Cursor Position (Columns).

zHorizontal Tab (HT control code).

zSpace (SP control code).

zBackspace (BS control code).

zBitmap Character Delta X (???Delta X (SI),??? Chapter 11).

For example, if the unit of measure is set to 96 (one PCL Unit = 1/96 inch), then the HMI is rounded to the nearest 1/96 inch. If the unit of measure is set to 300 (one PCL Unit = 1/300 inch), the HMI is rounded to the nearest 1/300 inch.

The current unit of measure setting affects all PCL Unit moves, horizontal and vertical rectangle size, bitmap and scalable font metrics (how the cursor moves after printing a character). The Unit of Measure command does not affect the interpretation of binary raster data (bitmap fonts, raster graphics or patterns).

Once the units of measure is changed, it stays in effect until another is selected or the printer is reset. A control panel or ? E reset returns the current unit of measure setting back to the device default setting (300).

The units value is part of the modified print environment. As such, it is saved and restored whenever a macro is called or an overlay invoked, and defaulted when establishing the overlay environment in preparation for an overlay.

{|4801-7200| over 7200}=0.3332 < {| 4801-3600|over 3600}=0.3336

Figure 4-6 compares a 4-unit vertical and horizontal cursor move with a unit of measure setting of 100 versus 200 units-per-inch. Note that the cursor move distance is halved when the Units per inch is doubled.

5 Page Control

Commands

Page Size Command

The Page Size command designates the size of the paper which in turn defines the size of the logical page.

? & l # A

PAPER:

#= 1 - Executive (7?? x 10?? in.) 2 - Letter (8?? x 11 in.)

3 - Legal (8?? x 14 in.)

6 - Ledger (11 x 17 in.)

26 - A4 (210mm x 297mm)

27 - A3 (297mm x 420mm)

ENVELOPES:

Upon receipt of this command any unprinted pages are printed, the top margin, text length, and left and right margins are set to their user defaults, and any automatic macro overlay is disabled. The cursor is moved to the left edge of the logical page at the top margin on the following page (see Figure 5-5). Also, certain HP-GL/2 state variables are reset (refer to Table 5-1, under ???Sending a Page Size Command:???).

The factory default Page Size is Letter (A4 for 220v option printer); however, a user default Page Size may be selected from the control panel. The Page Size command takes precedence over the printer???s control panel FORM setting.

PAPER SOURCE COMMAND

The Paper Source command designates the location to feed paper, or it prints the current page.

? & l # H

#= 0 - Print the current page

(paper source remains unchanged).

1 - Feed paper from the a printer-specific tray. 2 - Feed paper from manual input.

3 - Feed envelope from manual input.

4 - Feed paper from lower tray.

5 - Feed from optional paper source.

6 - Feed envelope from optional envelope. feeder1

1 Must be used in conjunction with Page Size command, envelope selection.

the PCL 5 Comparison Guide or the printer User???s Manual for paper source feature implementation details for specific HP LaserJet printers.

The Paper Source command causes the current page to be printed and the cursor to be moved to the left edge of the logical page at the top margin position for the next page (see Figure 5-5).

Example

To feed paper from the manual feed slot, send:

?&l2H

If the selection requires operator action (such as manually feeding paper), a printer message appears in the display, prompting for the appropriate action (see the printer User???s Manual for specific behavior).

Logical Page Orientation Command

Orientation defines the position of the logical page and the default direction of print with respect to the physical page as shown in Figure 5-1.

? & l # O

#= 0 - Portrait

1 - Landscape

2 - Reverse Portrait

3 - Reverse Landscape

Default = 0

Range = 0-3 (Other values ignored)

Table 5-1 HP-GL/2 State Variables

Figure 5-1 Page Orientation With Default Print Direction

The orientation of the HP-GL/2 picture is also affected by the logical page orientation. Figure 5-2 illustrates the effect of logical page orientation on the HP-GL/2 picture orientation. It is possible to alter the HP-GL/2 picture orientation within the logical page using the HP-GL/2 RO command (refer to Chapter 21, for additional information).

Most HP-GL/2 state variables retain their previous HP-GL/2 value upon receipt of this command (they are not affected by PCL mode). However, certain changes to the PCL state can affect the HP-GL/2 state (see Table 5-1).

Figure 5-2 HP-GL/2 Picture Orientation with Respect to Logical Page Orientation

Print Direction Command

The Print Direction command rotates the logical page coordinate system with respect to the current orientation without performing a page eject. This rotation is performed in 90?? increments in a counterclockwise direction. This allows printing in four directions on the same page.

? & a # P

#= 0 - 0?? rotation.

90 - 90?? ccw rotation.

180 - 180?? ccw rotation.

270 - 270?? ccw rotation.

example, rotating a default page (portrait orientation, 0?? print direction) 90?? causes data to print in the landscape direction across the ???portrait??? page.

z The margins are translated (when the print direction changes by 90??, the left margin becomes the new top margin, the former top margin becomes the new right margin, etc.)

Figure 5-3 Changing Print Direction on a Page

Text Area

Figure 5-4 Text Area Within the Page

Left Margin Command

The Left Margin command sets the left margin to the left edge of the specified column.

? & a # L

#= Column number

Default = Column 0 (Left bound of logical page)

Range = 0 - Right margin

The first column within a line is column 0, which is located at the left edge of the logical page (the HMI setting defines the distance between columns, which thereby defines the maximum number of columns on the logical page). If the value field specifies a column greater than the current right margin, the command is ignored.

Margins represent a physical position and once set do not change with subsequent changes in HMI.

If the cursor is to the left of the new left margin, the cursor is moved to the new left margin.

Example

To set the left margin to column 5, send:

?&a5L

Right Margin Command

The Right Margin command sets the right margin to the right edge of the specified column.

? & a # M

#= Column number

Default = Logical Page right bound

Range = Current left margin - Logical page right bound

The maximum right column is located at the right edge of the logical page (the HMI setting defines the distance between columns, which thereby defines the maximum number of columns on the logical page). If the value field specifies a column which is greater than the right edge of the logical page, the right margin is set to the right edge of the logical page. If the value field specifies a column less than the left margin, the command is ignored.

Margins represent a physical position and once set do not change with subsequent changes in HMI.

If the cursor position is to the right of the new right margin, the cursor is moved to the new right margin.

Example

To set the right margin to column 45, send:

?&a45M

Clear Horizontal Margins Command

The Clear Horizontal Margins command resets the left and right margins. The left margin is set to the left edge of the logical page (column 0) and the right margin is set to the right edge of the logical page.

? 9

Top Margin Command

The Top Margin command designates the number of lines between the top of the logical page and the top of the text area.

The cursor is actually positioned down 75% of the VMI distance (0.75 ??? VMI) from the top margin. This positions the cursor at the relative base line position of a character cell for correct character positioning.

Example

To set the top margin to line 4, send:

?&l4E

Figure 5-5 Margin Cursor Positioning

Text Length Command

The Text Length command designates the number of lines (at a given VMI) within the logical page available for printing text, the text area. This effectively defines the bottom margin.

? & l # F

#= Number of lines

Default = 1/2 inch less than maximum text length1

Range = Logical page length minus top margin

1 Maximum text length = INT(logical page length - top margin). However, if the max text length is less than ??inch, the text length is set to the maximum allowable.

The value field (#) sets the text length in lines referenced from the top margin. If a value greater than the logical page length minus the top margin is specified or if the current VMI is 0, the command is ignored. The user default text length is invoked whenever the orientation, page length, page size, or top margin is changed. The user default text length is computed as follows:

Example

To select a text length of 60 lines, send:

?&l6??F

Perforation Skip Command

The perforation region is the distance from the bottom of the text area of one page to the top of the text area (top margin) of the next page. When perforation skip is enabled, a Line Feed or Half-Line Feed, which would move the cursor beyond the bottom of the text area, causes the cursor to move to the top of the text area on the next page. When perforation skip is disabled, a Line Feed or Half-Line Feed allows the cursor to move to the next line or half-line in the perforation region, allowing printing to continue there.

? & l # L

Horizontal Motion Index (HMI) Command

The Horizontal Motion Index (HMI) command designates the width of the columns.

? & k # H

current unit of measure setting. For example, if the unit of measure is set to 96 (one PCL Unit = 1/96 inch), then the HMI is rounded to the nearest 1/96 inch. If the unit of measure is set to 300 (one PCL Unit = 1/300 inch), the HMI is rounded to the nearest 1/300 inch.

Example

To print the printer???s resident 16.66 pitch Line Printer font at 17.75 cpi, send ?(s16.66H to select the Line Printer font, then send the command ?&k6.76H to change HMI. This value field is calculated as follows:

Each character then occupies 6.76/120 inch or 1/17.75 inch.

To use Courier 12 point (10 cpi) and print 80 characters across A4 paper, requires adjusting the HMI value. The HMI value is calculated as follows:

* This value was obtained from Figure 2-3 which identifies the page sizes (in 300 dpi dots).

Vertical Motion Index (VMI) Command

The Vertical Motion Index (VMI) command designates the height of the rows. (The vertical distance the cursor moves for a Line Feed operation.)

? & l # C

#= number of 1/48 inch increments between rows.

Default = 8

Range = 0 - Current logical page length up to a maximum of 32767

If the specified VMI is greater than the current logical page length, the command is ignored.

The value field is valid to 4 decimal places. A ?? in the value field indicates no vertical movement.

This command affects the Line Feed and Half-Line Feed spacing.

The factory default VMI is 8, which corresponds to 6 lines-per-inch. A user default VMI can be selected from the control panel using the FORM menu item (refer to the printer User???s Manual for additional information).

Example

To designate a VMI of 6 (8 lines-per-inch) send:

?&l6C (6/48 = 1/8 inch/line)

The following equation converts lines-per-inch spacing to VMI:

Common VMI Settings

To print 66 lines per page on letter-size paper, in portrait orientation (with one-half inch top and bottom margins) send:

?&l7.27C 7.27 = (10/66) x 48

To print 66 lines per page on letter or legal-size paper, in landscape orientation (with one-half inch top and bottom margins) send:

?&l5.45C 5.45 = (7.5/66) x 48

Line Spacing Command

The Line Spacing command sets the number of lines printed per inch. Only the values listed below are valid.

? & l # D

6 Cursor Positioning

Introduction

This section describes the cursor positioning commands.

Although the printer does not actually have a cursor, the PCL cursor position refers to the Current Active Position (CAP), like the blinking underline character (cursor) used on most computers. This ???cursor??? identifies the current position on the page; the pointer, where a printing command begins laying out page data. The cursor can be moved anywhere within the logical page using a combination of horizontal and vertical cursor positioning commands and control codes.

In addition to cursor commands positioning the cursor, the cursor is automatically positioned after certain operations, such as printing characters and graphics. After printing a character, the cursor is positioned to the right, at a distance equal to the width of that character. This is controlled by the character design described under ???Character Width??? in Chapter 10, and allows printing characters without requiring a cursor position command for each character printed. When printing graphics, the cursor can also be positioned at a new location. These new positions are identified in the graphics sections.

HP-GL/2 vector graphics has its own HP-GL/2 cursor (referred to as the ???pen???) that can be positioned within the HP-GL/2 addressable area. For additional information on HP-GL/2 pen positioning refer to Chapter 17, An Introduction to HP-GL/2

Vector Graphics.

Absolute vs. Relative Cursor Positioning

Either absolute or relative motion can be specified.

Absolute motion always specifies the distance to move referenced from the top margin at the left bound of the logical page (0,0), regardless of the current active position (CAP) (see Figure 6-1). An unsigned value field in a cursor position command indicates absolute cursor movement.

Relative motion specifies the distance to move referenced from the current active position (CAP) (see Figure 6-1). A signed (+/-) value field in a cursor position command indicates relative cursor movement.

Figure 6-1 Absolute and Relative Cursor Positioning

Cursor Positioning Units

Cursor positioning is done in PCL coordinate system units. The units of the X-axis of the PCL coordinate system may be PCL Units, decipoints, or columns. The units of the Y-axis of the PCL coordinate system may be PCL Units, decipoints, or rows.

PCL Units

The current unit size used in PCL Unit moves is determined by the value specified in the Unit of Measure command, defining the number of units-per-inch used in the following commands:

zVertical Cursor Position (PCL Units).

zHorizontal Cursor Position (PCL Units).

zVertical Rectangle Size (PCL Units).

zHorizontal Rectangle Size (PCL Units).

In addition, the current unit of measure setting affects how cursor movement values are rounded, in turn affecting the result of the following commands:

zHorizontal Cursor Position (Columns).

zHorizontal Tab (HT control code).

zSpace (SP control code).

zBackspace (BS control code).

zBitmap Character Delta X (Delta X (SI), Chapter 11).

For more information, refer to the next section, ???Horizontal Cursor Positioning (Columns) Command.???

If no unit of measure value is specified, the default number of units-per-inch for PCL Unit moves (horizontal and vertical rectangle size, etc.) is one Unit equals 1/300 inch. This is true even when a different resolution (such as 600 dpi) is selected on the printer.

Decipoints

In PCL terminology, a decipoint is 1/720 inch or one-tenth of a PCL point (a PCL point is exactly 1/72 inch as opposed to a typographic point which is approximately 1/72 inch).

Columns & Rows

The width of a column is defined by the current horizontal motion index (HMI), as described under ???Horizontal Motion Index (HMI) Command??? in Chapter 5. The distance between rows is defined by the current vertical motion index (VMI), as described under ???Vertical Motion Index (VMI) Command??? in Chapter 5. HMI is the distance between consecutive characters. VMI is the distance between consecutive lines of text. HMI and VMI are described in more detail in Chapter 5.

HP-GL/2 has its own coordinate system and units. For additional information about the HP-GL/2 coordinate system and units, refer to Chapter 17, An Introduction to HP-GL/2 Vector Graphics.

Horizontal Cursor Positioning (Columns)

Command

This Horizontal Cursor Positioning command moves the cursor to a new column on the current line.

? & a # C

A value field (#) with a plus sign (+) indicates the new position is to the right of and relative to the current cursor position; a minus sign (???) indicates the new position is to the left of and relative to the current cursor position. No sign indicates an absolute distance which is referenced from the left edge of the logical page. The first column within a line is column 0. This sequence ignores margins and can therefore be used to set the current active position (CAP) to any location along the current line.

If a request is made for a location outside the printer???s logical page, the CAP is moved to the appropriate logical page limit.

Horizontal Cursor Positioning (Decipoints)

Command

This Horizontal Cursor Positioning command moves the cursor to a new position along the horizontal axis.

? & a # H

#= Number of Decipoints (1/720 inch)

Default = NA

Range = 0 - logical page right bound (rounded to the first decimal place)

A value field (#) with a plus sign (+) indicates the new position is to the right of and relative to the current cursor position; a minus sign (???) indicates the new position is to the left of and relative to the current cursor position. No sign indicates an absolute distance which is referenced from the left edge of the logical page. The left most position is 0 and the right most position is the right bound of the logical page.

If a request is made for a location outside the printer???s logical page, the current active position (CAP) is moved to the appropriate logical page limit.

The value field is valid to two decimal places.

Horizontal Cursor Positioning (PCL Units)

Command

This Horizontal Cursor Positioning command moves the cursor to a new position along the horizontal axis.

? * p # X

Horizontal Cursor Positioning Control Codes

Four control codes can be used to position the cursor horizontally on the current line. These control codes are explained below.

CR - Carriage Return

Moves the current active position (CAP) to the left margin on the current line. (Refer to ???Line Termination Command??? later in this chapter.)

SP - Space

Moves the current active position (CAP) to the right by one column position. Space may be a printable character or a control code. If a character is defined for the Space code, Space is printable; otherwise, it is a control code. For proportionally spaced fonts, a Space control code moves the cursor by the current HMI value; however, a printable space moves the cursor the width of the character. For fixed pitch fonts, a space, whether control code or printable, moves the cursor according to the HMI value.

BS - Backspace

Moves the current active position (CAP) left a distance equal to the width of the last printed symbol or space. If the active position is already at the left margin, no action is taken. If the cursor is currently beyond the right margin, BS positions the cursor just to the left of the right margin. When using fixed pitch fonts, the Backspace distance is defined by the current print pitch (HMI setting).

When using proportionally-spaced fonts, a single Backspace moves back to center the overstrike character. After printing the overstriking character, the cursor returns to its position prior to the Backspace.

Multiple backspaces each move back the distance of the last printed symbol or space. For example, if ???world??? was printed with a proportional font and then 5 backspaces were performed, the distance moved back would be five times the width of the ???d.???

HT - Horizontal Tab

Moves the current active position (CAP) to the next tab stop on the current line. The tab stops are at the left margin and every 8th column between the left margin and the right bound of the logical page. If the new horizontal position crosses the right margin, the new horizontal position is set to the right margin. If the current HMI value is 0, the command is ignored.

Vertical Cursor Positioning (Rows) Command

This Vertical Cursor Positioning command moves the cursor to a new line in the same column position.

? & a # R

If a request is made for a location outside the printer???s logical page, the current active position (CAP) is moved to the appropriate logical page limit.

Vertical Cursor Positioning (Decipoints)

Command

This Vertical Cursor Positioning command moves the cursor to a new position along the vertical axis.

? & a # V

If a request is made for a location outside the printer???s logical page, the current active position (CAP) is moved to the appropriate logical page limit.

Vertical Cursor Positioning (PCL Units) Command

This Vertical Cursor Positioning command moves the cursor to a new position along the vertical axis.

Half-Line Feed Command

The Half-Line Feed command moves the cursor to the same character position one half-line down. The distance moved for a Half-Line Feed is one-half of the current line spacing (defined by the last VMI or line spacing setting).

? =

Vertical Cursor Positioning Control Codes

Two control codes can be used to position the cursor vertically. These control codes are explained below.

LF - Line Feed

Advances the current active position (CAP) to the same horizontal position on the next line. The distance to the next line is defined by the current line spacing (defined by the last VMI or line spacing setting). (Refer to ???Line Termination Command??? later in this chapter.)

FF - Form Feed

Advances the current active position (CAP) to the same horizontal position at the top of the text area on the next page. (Refer to ???Line Termination Command??? later in this chapter.)

Line Termination Command

The Line Termination command controls the way the printer interprets CR, LF, and FF control characters. All CR, LF and FF control characters received after the Line Termination Command are interpreted as shown below.

? & k # G

#= 0- CR=CR; LF=LF; FF=FF

1- CR=CR-LF; LF=LF; FF=FF

2- CR=CR; LF=CR-LF; FF=CR-FF

3- CR=CR-LF; LF=CR-LF; FF=CR-FF

Default = 0

Range = 0-3

For example, if a value field of 1 is sent, the printer interprets each Carriage Return (CR) received as a Carriage Return (CR) and Line Feed (LF) control code. A Line Feed or Form Feed would be sent as is.

If a value of 3 is sent, the printer interprets each Carriage Return (CR) received as a Carriage Return (CR) and Line Feed (LF); it interprets each Line Feed (LF) received as a Carriage Return (CR) and Line Feed (LF); and it interprets each Form Feed (FF) received as a

Carriage Return (CR) and Form Feed (FF).

Push/Pop Cursor Position Command

The Push/Pop Cursor Position command allows the current cursor position to be stored and recalled.

A value field of 0 pushes the cursor position onto the stack, leaving the current position unaffected. A value field of 1 pops the position from the stack, restoring it as the current cursor position.

Twenty positions may be pushed. If you try to save more than 20 positions, the command is ignored. If you try to restore more

positions than were pushed, the command is ignored. A printer reset restores the current active position stack to the top (all saved positions are discarded).

The positions stored in the stack are not changed with an orientation change. Therefore, the positions are relative to the top left corner of the current orientation. Also, a position pushed in one orientation and popped in another can result in a position that is outside the logical page. If the position popped is outside the current logical page, the position is moved to the appropriate logical page limit.

7 Fonts

Introduction

A font is a group of symbols that have similar characteristics. A font is described by its symbol set, spacing, height, pitch, style, stroke weight, typeface and orientation.

A typical document is printed using several fonts. A large font may be used for the title and chapter headings of a document, a standard size font may be used for the body of the document, and key words or phrases may be highlighted, using a bold or italic font.

For example, this text is printed using a Century Schoolbook typeface; its height is 10 point, its style is upright, and its stroke weight is medium. Examples of different fonts are shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7-1 Font Samples

A font must be selected for printing by the user. One font is selected at a time. It is selected by identifying the specific characteristics of the font. Font selection commands identify font characteristics to the printer (refer to Summary of Font Selection by Characteristic for detailed font selection information).

PCL 5 printers feature scalable fonts. With the addition of this feature, the printer has two font formats available: bitmap and scalable. A bitmap font is available in its one, defined size only. A scalable font, on the other hand, can be selected (scaled) for a range of sizes (refer to ???Bitmap Fonts and Scalable Typefaces??? later in this chapter for additional information).

Font Sources

A number of fonts (and typefaces, as described later) are supplied with the printer. These fonts reside in permanent ROM (read only memory), and are referred to as internal fonts. Additional fonts can be added easily by inserting font cartridges or SIMM modules into the printer, or downloading them from the host computer.

A cartridge font plugs into a font cartridge slot on the printer.

SIMM font modules plug into a printed circuit board inside the printer. These ROM-based fonts are always available (as long as the cartridge or SIMM module is installed). A variety of font products may be purchased from Hewlett-Packard or other vendors. Refer to your Hewlett-Packard Accessories and Supplies Brochure for a list of HP???s font products.

Soft fonts are supplied as files on flexible disk transferred (downloaded) into the printer???s user (RAM) memory. Once a soft font has been downloaded into the printer???s RAM, it may be selected for printing.

Symbol Set

Symbol set identifies the specific collection of symbols provided by a font. Each symbol set is defined with a specific application in mind. For example, the legal and math symbol sets were designed to support legal and scientific applications. The following figure shows two common symbol sets, PC-8 and Roman-8. The PC-8 symbol set contains some special symbols and line draw characters not included in the Roman-8 symbol set, while the Roman-8 set contains European characters not contained in the PC-8 symbol set.

Figure 7-2 Symbol Sets

Spacing

Another characteristic that differentiates fonts is spacing. Fonts have either fixed or proportional spacing. Fixed-spaced fonts (Figure 7-3) are those in which the inter-character spacing is constant.

Proportionally-spaced fonts (Figure 7-4) are those in which the inter-character spacing varies with the natural shape of a character.

Figure 7-3 Fixed Spacing

Figure 7-4 Proportional Spacing

Pitch

Pitch describes the number of characters printed in a horizontal inch. Pitch only applies to fixed-spaced fonts, since the number of characters per inch varies for proportional fonts.

Figure 7-5 Pitch

Height

The height of a font is the measurement of the body of the type in PCL points. A PCL point is 1/72 inch in bitmap fonts, and approximately 1/72 inch in scalable fonts. The body of the type is slightly larger than the distance from the bottom of a descender to the top of an unaccented capital letter.

Figure 7-6 Height

This loose measure from near the bottom of a descender to just above the top of an unaccented capital letter is sometimes referred to as the ???Em.???

Style

Style is defined by three characteristics: posture (upright, italic), width (condensed, normal, expanded, etc.), and structure (solid, outline, shadow etc.). Examples of upright and italic styles are shown.

Figure 7-7 Style

Stroke Weight

Stroke weight describes the thickness of the strokes that compose characters. Examples of medium and bold stroke weights are shown in the figure below.

Figure 7-8 Stroke Weight

Typeface Family

Typeface identifies the design of the symbols of the font. Each typeface family has unique and distinguishing design characteristics. The following example shows typefaces from various typeface families.

Figure 7-9 Typeface

Orientation

Orientation defines the position of the logical page with respect to the physical page as shown in Figure 7-10.

Figure 7-10 Orientation

The HP LaserJet IID, IIP, 2000, and all PCL 5 LaserJet printers automatically rotate fonts to the current orientation (all fonts are available in all four orientations). (Earlier printers required fonts in the orientation which matched the orientation of the page. Thus, orientation is not as important as it once was.)

The orientation of a font is still a consideration when the amount of user memory (RAM) is a concern. Internal and other ROM-based fonts consume very little user memory. On some printers, downloaded fonts, scaled fonts, and rotated fonts are stored entirely in RAM. For bitmap fonts, selecting a font with the current logical page orientation saves RAM space on some printers.

Bitmap Fonts and Scalable Typefaces

Figure 7-11 Bitmap Character

Figure 7-12 Scalable Character

Internal Fonts

Internal fonts are those fonts that are provided with the printer.

Both internal bitmap and scalable font formats are provided. Internal bitmap and scalable fonts and symbol sets for current models of HP LaserJet family printers are listed in Chapter 2 of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide. Font and symbol set listings for earlier printer models can be found in the User???s Manual for each printer.

Special Effects

HP PCL 5 printers allow you to create special effects when printing characters. These effects are achieved through the use of the print model feature, or through the use of HP-GL/2 vector graphics (refer to Chapter 13, The PCL Print Model or to the HP-GL/2 information in Chapters 17-23).

The print model provides a simple means for printing patterned or shaded characters using the printer???s predefined cross-hatch/shading patterns, or user-defined patterns. HP-GL/2 vector graphics provide the additional ability to print characters in any direction (angle) on a page, and to print outlined characters. HP-GL/2 also allows anisotropic (non-linear) scaling of scalable fonts which produces characters that are stretched in one direction.

8 PCL Font Selection

Introduction

Several characteristics identify a font (as described in Chapter 7, Fonts). Font characteristic selection commands, described in this chapter, are used to specify the desired font characteristics for printing. Commands are included for the following characteristics: symbol set, spacing, pitch, height, style, stroke weight, and typeface family.

The printer maintains a font select table in its operating code that contains the characteristic values of the current font. Whenever the printer receives a font select command (escape sequence) specifying a new characteristic value, the printer records that characteristic in the table. After the table is updated (receives new characteristic values), and text is ready to be printed, the printer performs a font select. The printer searches the available fonts and scalable typefaces to select one that matches (or most closely matches) the characteristics as listed in the font select table.

Font Selection Priority

The printer selects a font based on a prioritization of its design characteristics, then its resolution, then its physical location in the printer, and finally, its orientation. Font selection priority considerations are shown in the following list:

1.Bitmap fonts designed at 600 dpi are not available for selection at 300 dpi. In 600 dpi mode, font priority is as follows: 600 dpi bitmap, scalable, 300 dpi bitmap.

2.Although location is not a font characteristic, it is a font selection consideration.

When selecting a font, the printer compares the highest priority characteristic in the font select table to the corresponding characteristic of the available fonts. If only one font is available that matches, that font is selected. If several fonts match, the printer compares the next highest priority characteristic to the corresponding characteristic of the available fonts and so on down the list. When only one font remains, that font is selected. However, if after comparison of all the font design characteristics, more than one font still remains, then the resolution and location are considered.

There are four locations where a font may be stored: printer ROM (Read Only Memory), SIMM module ROM, cartridge ROM, and printer RAM (random access memory; user memory). These font locations are shown below, listed from the highest to lowest priority. The font that matches the characteristics is selected from the highest priority location.

Priority of Locations

1.In printers with two cartridge slots, one slot has priority over the other. Refer to Appendix E of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for cartridge slot priority information for the different HP LaserJet printers.

Font Select Table

The initial font specification in a job should be made using all of the font characteristics.

To select a Roman-8, fixed-spaced, 10 pitch, 12 point, upright, bold, Courier font, for the current page orientation, specify each of the characteristics using font selection escape sequences. Once the characteristics have been specified, the font select table appears as follows:

To subsequently select a font with the same characteristics differing only in one aspect, only the single characteristic must be specified. For example, to select a font differing only in stroke weight (in this case, medium rather than bold), the printer???s font select table could be changed as follows:

Primary and Secondary Fonts

The printer maintains two independent font select tables for use in selecting a primary font and a secondary font. All of the characteristics previously described apply to both tables. This provides access to two distinct fonts, only one of which is selected

at a given time. To alternate between the primary and the secondary font, the control codes ??????SI?????? (Shift In; ASCII 15) is used to designate primary and ??????SO?????? (Shift Out; ASCII 14) is used to designate secondary.

The factory default state is primary font designated.

Font Resolution

With the introduction of the LaserJet 4 printer, fonts can be printed at 600 dpi resolution. All scalable fonts automatically print at either 300 or 600 dpi resolution. A bitmapped font which was designed at 300 dots-per-inch can be printed on the LaserJet 4 printer at 600 dpi. However, a bitmapped font which was designed at 600 dpi is not available for selection at 300 dpi resolution.

Symbol Set Command

The Symbol Set command identifies the specific set of symbols in a font. ???Symbols??? are the alphanumeric, punctuation, or any other printable characters or symbols which may be included.

EC ( ID Primary Symbol Set Command

ID = Symbol Set ID value (see Appendix C in the PCL 5

Comparison Guide)

EC ) ID Secondary Symbol Set Command

If the font is a scalable typeface, symbol set is determined from the values contained in the printer???s font selection table. To specify a different symbol set, send a symbol set selection command prior to the Font Selection ID command. (Also see ???Font Selection by ID Command,??? later in this chapter.)

A few symbol sets are listed below. For a more complete list, refer to Appendix C in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide.

Example

To specify ASCII as the symbol set for the primary font, send:

EC(0U

To specify Roman-8 as the symbol set for the secondary font, send:

EC)8U

7-bit ISO Symbol Sets

The HP LaserJet printers provide several 7-bit ISO (International Organization for Standardization) or ???keyboard??? symbol sets to support European languages. Each ISO symbol set is a unique ordering of symbols contained within the Roman-8 symbol set (see Appendix B in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide). The printer automatically generates the requested ISO font from an HP Roman-8 font.

Spacing Command

Inter-character spacing can be specified as either proportional or fixed.

When proportional spacing is specified and a proportionally-spaced font is not available (in the requested symbol set), a fixed pitch font with the current pitch specification is selected. If fixed spacing is specified but is not available, a proportional-spaced font is selected and the pitch characteristic is ignored.

For fixed-spaced bitmap fonts, both pitch and height (point size) are used for selection of font character size. However, for fixed-spaced scalable fonts, only pitch is used. For proportional bitmap and scalable fonts, only height is used for selection of font character size.

The user default primary and secondary spacings are implicitly set by selection of a user default font from the printer???s control panel (refer to the printer User???s Manual).

Example

To specify proportional spacing for the primary font, send:

EC(s1P

To specify fixed spacing for the secondary font, send:

EC)s0P

Pitch Command

The Pitch command designates the horizontal spacing of a fixed- spaced (bitmap or scalable) font in terms of the number of

characters per inch. This characteristic is ignored when selecting a proportionally-spaced (bitmap or scalable) font, but is saved in the font select table and available when a fixed-spaced font is selected.

EC ( s # H - Primary pitch

EC ) s # H - Secondary pitch

#= # = Pitch in characters/inch

Default = 10

Range = 0.00

The value field (#) is valid to two decimal places.

If a pitch is specified that is not available, the next greater available pitch is selected. If no greater value is available, the closest available lesser value is selected.

The factory default primary and secondary pitches are ten characters per inch.

The user default primary and secondary pitches are implicitly set by selection of a users default font from the printer???s control panel (refer to the printer User???s Manual).

The range of valid pitch selections for a fixed-spaced scalable font is 576 to .10 characters/inch, however, not all valid pitches are available, since the pitch value is actually converted to a corresponding point size (height) value which is scaled by the printer. The effective pitch ranges are thus limited by height constraints.

The lower end of the pitch range is limited as a result of the font height limitation of 999.75 points. For example, the smallest available pitch for the internal Courier typeface would be about 0.12.

The upper end of the pitch range is similarly limited by the minimum recommended font height of 4 points. For Courier, this translates to a maximum recommended pitch of 30 (30 cpi), while for Letter Gothic the maximum recommended pitch is 36. When requested pitch values are outside of HP???s recommended limits, unsatisfactory results can occur.

The following formula can be used to as a rule of thumb for computing a maximum recommended pitch:

Example

To specify 10 pitch for the primary font, send:

EC(s10H

To specify 16.66 pitch for the secondary font, send:

EC)s16.66H

Height Command

The Height command specifies the height of the font in points. This characteristic is ignored when selecting a fixed-spaced scalable font; however, the value is saved and available when a bitmap font or a proportionally-spaced scalable font is selected.

EC ( s # V - Primary Height

EC ) s # V - Secondary Height

#= Height in points

Default = 12

Range = 0.25 - 999.75

The value field (#) is valid to two decimal places. If the requested height is unavailable, the closest height is selected. All bitmap fonts whose heights are within a quarter point of the specified height are considered to have the specified height. For scalable fonts the value field is from .25 to 999.75 points in increments of 0.25 point (values are rounded to the nearest quarter point).

The factory default primary and secondary heights are 12 point. In PCL bitmap fonts, a point is 1/172 (0.01389) inch. For scalable fonts, the definition of a point varies in TrueType a point is 1/172 inch, while Intellifont fonts have 72.307 points to the inch.

The user default primary and secondary heights are implicitly set by selection of a user default font from the printer???s control panel (refer to the printer User???s Manual).

Example

To specify a height of 12 points for the primary font, send:

EC(s12V

To specify a height of 14.4 points for the secondary font, send:

EC)s14.4V

If the above sequence was used for selection of a scalable font, the actual font would be scaled to 14.5 points.

Style Command

The Style command identifies the posture of a character, its width, and structure of the font symbols.

EC ( s # S - Primary Style

EC ) s # S - Secondary Style

Default = 0

Range = 0 - 32767 (values greater than 32767 are set to 32767)

Style values for the most common typefaces are listed in Table 8-1. Additional style values may also be obtained from the related font documentation provided with HP???s font products.

Table 8-1 Common Font Styles

Example

To specify an upright style for the primary font, send:

EC(s0S

To specify an italic style for the secondary font, send:

EC)s1S

Figure 8-1 Common Font Styles

Stroke Weight Command

The Stroke Weight command designates the thickness of the strokes that compose the characters of a font.

EC ( s # B - Primary stroke weight

EC ) s # B - Secondary stroke weight

Default = 0

Range = - 7 to 7 (less than -7 maps to -7; greater than 7 maps to 7)

The value field (#) specifies the thickness of the strokes used in the design of the font. The supported stroke weight values are ???7 through 7. The thinnest font available is ???7; the thickest font available is +7. The standard stroke weight for a medium font is 0; the standard stroke weight for a bold font is 3; the standard stroke weight for a light font is ???3.

Table 8-2 Stroke Weights

If the specified stroke weight is greater than or equal to 0 and is not available, the next thicker available stroke weight is selected. If no thicker stroke weight is available, the closest available thinner stroke weight is selected.

If the specified stroke weight is less than zero and is not available, the next thinner available stroke weight is selected. If no thinner stroke weight is available, the closest available thicker stroke weight is selected.

The factory default primary and secondary stroke weights are zero (medium).

The user default primary and secondary stroke weights are implicitly set by selection of a user default font from the printer???s control panel (refer to the printer User???s Manual).

Typeface Family Command

The Typeface Family command designates the design of the font.

If the value field (#) specifies a typeface that is unavailable, this characteristic is ignored during font selection.

The factory default primary and secondary typefaces are Courier.

The user default primary and secondary typefaces are implicitly set by selection of a user default font from the printer???s control panel (refer to the printer User???s Manual).

There is some variation in how font selection occurs between HP LaserJet models. The typeface selection compatibility for two types of values is identified for various HP LaserJet printers in Chapter 2 of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide.

1.These values are not applicable to all HP LaserJet family printers. See the

PCL 5 Comparison Guide for specifics.

Some typeface (two-byte) family values are listed below. For a complete listing of typeface family and base values, refer to Appendix

C in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide.

Example

To specify CG Times as the typeface family for the primary font, send:

EC)s4101T

To specify Line Printer as the typeface family for the secondary font, send:

EC)s0T

Orientation

The Orientation command (EC&l#O) designates the position of the logical page with respect to the physical page. Earlier printers could only print bitmap fonts and raster graphics in the orientation for which they were designed. However, the HP LaserJet IID, IIP, 2000, and all PCL 5 HP LaserJet printers have the capability to automatically rotate bitmap fonts and raster graphics to match the page orientation; therefore, all fonts are available in all four page orientations and print directions. Whenever a scalable font is selected, it is created in the current orientation for printing. Refer to ???Logical Page Orientation Command??? and ???Print Direction Command??? in Chapter 5 for more information.

Font Selection Examples

Bitmap, Fixed-Spaced Font

This example illustrates how to select a primary, bitmap, Line Printer, fixed-spaced font with the following characteristics (note that all of the font characteristics are specified):

Table 8-3

The following escape sequences can be sent to the printer to select a primary font with the above characteristics:

EC(0UEC(s0PEC(s16.66HEC(s8.5VEC(s0SEC(s0BEC(s0T

The previous sequence can be shortened by combining sequences that have the same two characters following the EC character:

EC(0UEC(s0p16.66h8.5v0s0b0T

Scalable, Proportional-Spaced Font

This example illustrates how to select a primary, scalable, CG Times, proportional-spaced font with the following characteristics (note that all of the font characteristics are specified except pitch which is not required for a proportional font):

Sending shortened font selection commands can result in selection of an unexpected font. This is due to failure to track previously specified characteristics and their selection priority in relation to the current font selection. Thus, it is recommended that all of the characteristics be sent to ensure that the correct font is selected.

Summary of Font Selection by Characteristic

The following summarizes the procedure the printer uses to select a font. Selection by characteristic is an elimination process. The nine steps are performed in the following order:

1Symbol Set - if the specified symbol set exists, that symbol set is selected; otherwise, Roman-8 is selected.

2Spacing - if proportional spacing is specified and available, proportional spacing is selected. If proportional spacing is specified but is not available, fixed spacing is selected in the current pitch. (A proportionally-spaced font is always available in PCL 5 printers, but it may not be available in the specified symbol set.)

3Pitch - applies only to fixed spaced fonts. If fixed spacing is specified and available, fixed spacing in the specified pitch is selected.

Bitmap Fonts: For a fixed-space bitmap font, if the specified pitch is not available, the next greater available pitch is selected. If no greater pitch is available, the closest available lesser pitch is selected. If fixed spacing is specified but is not available, a proportional-spaced font is selected and the pitch characteristic is ignored.

Scalable Fonts: For a fixed-spaced scalable font, the pitch is used to calculate the appropriate height. The Height selection command is not required. The printer calculates the appropriate height to correspond to the pitch. The user???s height request is recorded in the printer???s font select table for later font selections, but is ignored for this selection.

4Height - the closest height available from the remaining fonts is selected. The closest height is in terms of absolute difference. All bitmap fonts whose heights are within a quarter point of the specified height are considered to have the specified height.

1.In printers with two cartridge slots, one slot has priority over the other. Refer to Appendix E of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for cartridge slot priority information for the different HP LaserJet printers.

9Orientation - for bitmap fonts the last criteria considered for the selection is its orientation. If two fonts still remain and match in all the above characteristics except orientation, that font which matches the current page orientation is selected.

If there is a soft font (highest priority location) available that matches all selection characteristics, but is not in the current orientation, and there is an identical font available in a cartridge or internal font (lower priority location) that is in the current orientation, the soft font is selected and rotated.

Font Selectionby ID Command

Soft fonts can be specified using their associated ID numbers. (ID numbers are assigned to soft fonts using the Font ID command described in Chapter 9, Font Management).

EC ( # X - Designates soft font # as primary

EC ) # X - Designates soft font # as secondary

If the font is a scalable typeface, symbol set is determined from the values contained in the printer???s font selection table. To specify a different symbol set, send a symbol set selection command prior to the Font Selection ID command.

For shared or multi-user environments, Hewlett-Packard recommends that soft fonts be selected by characteristics rather than ID number.

Examples

To specify the font associated with ID number 7 as the primary font, send:

EC(7X

To specify the font associated with ID number 5 as the secondary font, send:

EC)5X

Select Default Font Command

The Default Font command sets all of the font characteristics to those of the user (control panel selected) default font.

HP-GL/2 Font Selection

In addition to selecting fonts using the PCL font selection commands, fonts can also be selected and printed in HP-GL/2 mode using the HP-GL/2 label commands (refer to Chapter 23, Character Group). The HP-GL/2 font selection commands allow you to label vector graphic images and to create some special effects with fonts not otherwise available. These special effects include printing outline fonts from fonts which are not outline style, printing mirror-images of fonts, and printing fonts on any angle on the logical page. Fonts can also be scaled using HP-GL/2 vector graphics, however this font scaling method is rather program intensive and not the recommended method (refer to ???HP-GL/2 Vector Graphics??? in Chapter 25 for additional information).

Transparent Print Data Command

The Transparent Print Data command provides printing access to those characters which the printer normally defines as unprintable. These characters include decimal character codes 0, 7-15, and 27.

EC & p # X [Transparent Print Data]

# =Number of bytes of transparent print data.

Default = N/A

Range = 0 - 32767

Each transparent print data byte is interpreted as a single character code. The appropriate character is printed if one exists; otherwise, a Space is processed. For example, control codes such as LF, CR, FF are treated as print data while in Transparent Print Data mode.

Underline Command

The Underline command controls automatic text underlining.

EC & d # D - Enable underline

#= 0 - Fixed position

3 - Floating position

Default = 0

Range = 0, 3 (values outside range are ignored)

EC & d @ - Disable underline

Once underlining is enabled, any positive horizontal movement causes an underline to be drawn. Positive horizontal movement includes the printing of text and positive horizontal cursor motion.

When fixed position underlining is enabled, the underline is drawn five dots below the baseline and is three dots thick. (The baseline is the dot row on which all of the characters in a given line appear to stand, see Chapter 11.) When floating position underline is enabled, the underline position is determined by the greatest underline distance below the baseline of all of the fonts printed on the current line. (The underline distance for a font is defined in the font header, see Chapter 11.)

9 Font Management

Introduction

Font management provides mechanisms for manipulating soft fonts. It provides the means for controlling which soft fonts are saved in user memory (RAM) or deleted. This is accomplished by assigning a font as either temporary or permanent, or deleting a soft font. In addition, font management includes the command for assigning ID numbers to RAM fonts. It also provides a mechanism for copying ROM fonts (internal, cartridge, or SIMM) to RAM for the purpose of assigning ID numbers.

Downloading Soft Fonts

The process of transferring soft fonts from a host computer to the printer???s user memory (RAM) is called downloading. Designate a unique identification (ID) number prior to the download of a font. This number is then associated with the soft font. This number is assigned using the Font ID command, described later in this chapter. Subsequent manipulation of the soft font is accomplished using the font???s ID number. If a font is already associated with this ID number in the printer, the existing font is deleted during the download.

Several commands are required to define a font before downloading it to the printer. These commands are described in detail in Chapter 11. Hewlett-Packard font files include the necessary commands that define the symbols of a font. Assigning a font ID number and then copying the font file to the printer downloads the font. Scalable fonts and typefaces may be prepared by font management software such as HP???s Type Director. Once prepared, scalable fonts are downloaded in much the same manner as bitmap fonts.

Once downloaded, a soft font occupies a portion of user memory (RAM). The number of soft fonts that can be stored in user memory is limited only by the amount of available user memory.

Temporary vs. Permanent Fonts

Once downloaded, a font is automatically designated as temporary. A temporary soft font is deleted from user memory during a printer reset or when a Typeface List, a Font Printout or a self-test is performed from the printer???s control panel. A soft font can be designated as permanent to prevent the printer from deleting it during a printer reset. A soft font is designated as temporary or permanent by referencing its ID number and using the Font Control command (refer to ???Font Control Command??? later in this chapter).

Deleting Fonts

There are several mechanisms provided by PCL font management that delete soft fonts from user memory. These include commands to delete all soft fonts, all temporary soft fonts, or an individual soft font by reference to its font ID number (refer to the Font ID and the Font Control commands described on the following pages).

Font ID Command

The Font ID command is used to specify an ID number for use in subsequent font management commands. The ID number of a font can be used to select the font for printing (refer to ???Font Selection by ID??? in Chapter 8).

EC *c#D

Example

To specify a font ID number of 1, send:

EC*c1D

Font Control Command

The Font Control command provides mechanisms for manipulating soft fonts.

EC * c # F

#= 0 - Delete all soft fonts

1 - Delete all temporary soft fonts

2 - Delete soft font (last ID specified)

3 - Delete Character Code (last ID and Character Code specified)

4 - Make soft font temporary (last ID specified)

5 - Make soft font permanent (last ID specified)

6 - Copy/Assign current invoked font as temporary (last ID specified)

Examples

To remove all soft fonts from user memory, send:

EC *c0F

To remove only those soft fonts that are temporary, send:

EC *c1F

To delete the soft font with an ID of 1, send:

EC *c1d2F

To delete the character ???p??? (112 decimal) in a bitmap or bound scalable font with an ID of 1, send:

EC *c1d112e3F

(A space is printed in place of the deleted character. Also, the EC*c#E Character Code command used in the above sequence ???...112e...,??? is described in Chapter 11.)

To make the soft font with an ID of 2 temporary, send:

EC *c2d4F

To make the soft font with an ID of 2 permanent, send:

EC *c2d5F

Font Management Example

This example illustrates several typical font management operations. It assumes a bitmap soft font is stored and available on an MS-DOS based hard disk.

1 Set the font ID number to 2:

EC*c2D

2Download a soft font file using the MS-DOS COPY command with the /B option:

COPY /B filename PRN

Note that the soft font is associated with font ID 2.

3Make the soft font permanent to prevent its deletion during a printer reset:

EC*c5F

4 Designate the permanent soft font as primary:

EC(2X

Unbound Scalable Fonts

Prior to introduction of the HP LaserJet IIIP printer, a downloaded scalable font was restricted to a single symbol set. Now scalable fonts with no symbol set affiliation can be downloaded. These new fonts are called unbound fonts.

To download unbound fonts, the ???PCL Font Header for Intellifont Unbound Scalable Fonts??? or the ???Format 15 Font Header for Scalable Fonts??? (TrueType) must be used (see Chapter 11).

Bound and Unbound Fonts

The terms ???bound??? and ???unbound??? refer to the symbol set capacity of a font. A bound font identifies a font which is restricted (bound) to a single symbol set. An unbound font (or unbound typeface) indicates the capacity to be bound to a set of symbols selected from a complementary symbol index (such as the Master Symbol List (MSL), or the Unicode symbol index).

Font Selection and Unbound Fonts

When a font is requested for printing, the printer selects a font which most closely matches the current font selection characteristics (symbol set, spacing, pitch, height, style, stroke weight, and typeface). Refer to ???Summary of Font Selection by Characteristics??? in Chapter 8 for detailed font characteristic selection information.

Since symbol set is the highest font selection priority and typeface is the lowest, the printer searches for the symbol set first. A list of all fonts that match the requested symbol set is made. This includes bitmap, bound, and unbound fonts. Since bitmap and bound scalable fonts contain only one symbol set, they can be easily identified. However, determining which unbound fonts match a symbol set is more complex. Symbol set compatibility for unbound fonts is determined by identification of groups of symbols referred to as symbol collections.

Symbol Collections

The symbols in an unbound font (typeface) can be divided into symbol collections. These symbol collections identify the symbols according to some language basis or special application usage. Some symbol collections include: Basic Latin, East European, Turkish, Math, Semi-Graphic, and Dingbats. If a symbol collection is included in an unbound font, all of the symbols of that collection are included.

The symbols within a symbol collection do not change from one unbound font to the next. For example, the Basic Latin collection always contains the same symbols. Different fonts may contain different symbol collections. For example, the internal Univers typeface contains the Latin, Math, and Semi-Graphic collections (these collections contain all the symbols required for the 35 symbol sets that Univers supports). The ITC Zapf Dingbats typeface, on the other hand, contains only the Dingbats collection, which includes all the symbols required for the five supported symbol sets.

When searching unbound scalable fonts (during font selection) for those that match the requested symbol set, the printer actually searches for symbol collections. To identify symbol collections which meet the needs of the requested symbol set, the printer uses two numbers: the Character Requirements number and the Character Complement number.

Character Complement Numbers

The ???Intellifont Unbound Scalable Font Header??? (header) includes a 64 bit field (bytes 78-85) which contains the Character Complement number. For TrueType fonts, in the ???Format 15 Font Header for Scalable Fonts??? (unbound), the Character Complement number is included in the accompanying ???Segmented Font Data??? section of the header.

The Character Complement number identifies the symbol collections in the font. Each bit in this field corresponds to a symbol collection (not all bits are currently defined; refer to Appendix D in the PCL 5

Comparison Guide).

Intellifont example: If bits 63 and 34 are cleared (set to zero) it indicates that the unbound font contains the Basic Latin (bit 63) and Math (bit 34) symbol collections and that the character index is in HP???s MSL numbers (bit 0).

TrueType example: If bits 31, 30, and 0 are cleared (set to zero), it indicates that the unbound font contains ASCII, Latin 1 extensions and is based on Unicode numbers.

Character Requirements Number

The other number the printer uses to determine symbol set compatibility, the Character Requirements number, is provided as part of the information contained in the symbol set. The Character Requirements number is a 64-bit number analogous to the Character Complement number; however, it identifies the symbol collections needed by the symbol set.

Intellifont example: If a symbol set based on HP???s MSL numbers requires one or more characters from the standard Latin collection and some of the characters from the Math collection then bits 63 and 34 are set to one (refer to Appendix D in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for information regarding the various symbol collections).

TrueType example: If a symbol set based on Unicode numbers requires one or more characters from the standard ASCII collection and some of the characters from the Latin 5 collection, then bits 31, 28 and 0 are set to one (refer to Appendix D in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for information regarding the various symbol collections).

As stated above, to determine which unbound scalable fonts contain the symbols for the specific symbol set, the printer must identify those unbound fonts that contain the symbol collections of the requested symbol set. To do this, the printer accesses the Character Requirements number for the requested symbol set. If, for example, the Roman-8 symbol set was requested, the printer would access the Character Requirements number from the Roman-8 symbol set information in the printer. This number is then compared with the Character Complement number of each unbound font in the printer. If any matches are found, those unbound fonts are included in the list of potential fonts for selection.

Final Font Selection

After the process above is complete, the printer contains a list of all fonts (bitmap, bound, and unbound) which support the requested symbol set. (If no fonts are found for the specified symbol set, Roman-8 is used. If more than one font remains, the printer continues comparing font selection characteristics, eliminating fonts, until only one remains. Whenever only one font remains, it is selected for printing.

Symbol Set Mapping Table

The printer receives character codes in the range 0-255 which, depending on the selected symbol set, identify the symbols to print or control codes to execute.

There are hundreds of symbols available in unbound fonts in

HP LaserJet printers, more than can be identified by the character code range (0 - 255). A list of these symbols is provided in the symbol indexes, such as the Master Symbol List (MSL) and the Unicode list In Appendix D of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide). Each symbol in the list is identified by a unique MSL or Unicode number. Symbols in unbound fonts are identified by this number.

Since the printer identifies symbols by their symbol index number (range from 0 to 65535), but receives character codes (range 0-255), a relation must be made between the character codes and the larger range of symbol index numbers. This relation is defined by the symbol set mapping table.

The printer contains a symbol set mapping table for each available symbol set. These tables list the character code range and corresponding list of symbol index numbers. Using this mapping the printer identifies which indexed character is printed for the character code in the current symbol set.

A partial symbol set mapping table is shown in Table 9-1 for the Roman-8 symbol set.

Table 9-1 Roman-8 Symbol Index Mapping

Printing a Character

When an unbound font is selected for printing and a character code is received, the printer accesses the requested symbol set mapping table to identify the MSL or Unicode number. For example, if the Roman-8 symbol set is selected and the printer receives character code 254, the printer accesses the Roman-8 symbol set mapping table (Table 9-1). In the Roman-8 mapping table, character code 254 is mapped to MSL number 191 or Unicode number 00b1 (plus-over-minus symbol). Thus, to print character code 254, the printer searches the selected unbound font for the correct MSL or Unicode number and prints that character.

10 User-Defined Symbol

Sets

Introduction

User-defined symbol sets are used with unbound scalable fonts. Three new commands provide for the implementation of user-defined symbol sets:

Symbol Set ID Code - EC*c#R

Define Symbol Set - EC(f#W [symbol set data]

Symbol Set Control - EC*c#S

To define a symbol set, you must first designate a symbol set ID code. Next, use the Define Symbol Set command to download the list of characters (character codes and related symbol index numbers) for the symbol set. Once this is accomplished, you may select the symbol set for printing in the same manner as any symbol set using the symbol set selection sequence: EC(ID

Once a user-defined symbol set is downloaded, the Symbol Set Control command can be used to assign symbol sets as either temporary or permanent and to delete them.

Symbol Set ID Code Command

The Symbol Set ID Code command assigns a symbol set ID code to a user-defined symbol set. This ID code is used by the Symbol Set Control command for symbol set management.

The ID code corresponds to the symbol set ID selection value which is used to identify the symbol set during font selection.

EC * c # R

#= Symbol Set ID Code (decimal)

Default = 0

Range = 0 - 32,767 (larger values are outside the legal range)

When downloading a symbol set, the symbol set ID value must match the Encoded Symbol Set Designator field in the user-defined symbol set header.

As mentioned above, the symbol set ID code is related to a symbol set ID value. The relationship between the ID code and the symbol set ID selection value is shown by the following formula:

Symbol Set ID code = (# * 32) + (ID - 64)

where: ???#??? represents the number portion of the ID selection value which may range from 0-1023; and, ???ID??? represents the ordinal (decimal) value of the ID character. (Symbol set ID selection values consist of a number and a letter, such as 8U for Roman-8 or 7J for DeskTop etc.)

For example:

Assume the ID selection value selected for this symbol set is 17Q, then:

(17 * 32) + (81 - 64) = 561

The symbol set ID code is 561.

When selecting an ID code, select one which is not being used currently. (If an ID code is selected which is already being used in the printer, that symbol set is redefined.) The first step in selecting an ID code is to determine an ID selection value. Since it may be difficult to determine which ID selection values are being used, it is best to select one which has not been assigned. Refer to Appendix C in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide to select a number/letter (ID selection value) combination which has not been assigned.

After the ID selection value has been determined, use the conversion formula (shown above) to convert the ID value to an ID code.

To create a user-defined symbol set:

1Identify the symbols (symbol index numbers) for the symbol set from the MSL or Unicode list in Appendix D of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide. List them in the appropriate character code order.

2Identify the symbol collections (and Character Requirement bits) that contain the symbols (Appendix D of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide).

3Identify the Define Symbol Set command header information.

4Identify a symbol set ID selection value and convert it into its symbol set ID code.

5Designate the ID code using the Symbol Set ID Code command.

6Download the symbol set header data and MSL or Unicode numbers using the Define Symbol Set command.

To print using the symbol set, it must be selected using the Select Symbol Set command - EC(ID, where ID is the symbol set ID selection value used to calculate the symbol set ID code.

Define Symbol Set

This command defines the characters and character mapping for a user-defined symbol set.

EC ( f # W [symbol set definition data]

#= Number of bytes in symbol set definition

Default = n/a

Range = 0 - 32767

If a user-defined symbol set is already present in the printer and a new, valid symbol set is downloaded with the same Symbol Set ID Code, then the old symbol set is deleted. If an internal symbol set with the same ID code exists, it is overridden by the new symbol set. If the symbol set definition is invalid, the command is ignored. If there is insufficient memory to create the symbol set, the symbol set is discarded.

The following abbreviations are used to define the data type of each field in the symbol set header:

Font Header Field Data Type Notation

Header Size (UI)

Set the header size to the size of the header data ??? the number of bytes from Header Size (byte 0) to the last byte just before the beginning of the Symbol Map data bytes. This value is 18 or greater.

Encoded Symbol Set Designator (UI)

This field must match the ID code in the Symbol Set ID code command.

This field contains the symbol set ID code. The symbol set ID code is calculated from a symbol set ID selection value using the following formula:

Symbol Set ID Code = (# * 32) + (ID - 64)

where # is the decimal number (0 to 1023) and ID is the ASCII character code of the letter.

For example:

Assume the ID selection value selected for this symbol set is 17Q, then:

(17 * 32) + (81 - 64) = 561

The symbol set ID code is 561.

Format (UB)

Set this field to 1 for MSL (Intellifont) or 3 for Unicode (TrueType).

Unrecognized values cause the symbol set definition to be ignored.

Symbol Set Type (UB)

This field defines the printable and unprintable codes for the symbol set.

First Code (UI)

Specifies the first character code in the set.

Last Code (UI)

The Last Code specifies the last character code in the set.

Together, the First Code through the Last Code identify the range of character codes which map to the symbol index numbers (characters) in the Symbol Map field.

Character Requirements (Array of UB) and character requirement

This 8-byte field works in conjunction with the Character Complement field in the header of a type 10 or 11 (unbound) font to determine the compatibility of a symbol set with an unbound font. These two fields identify the unbound fonts in the printer which contain the symbol collections required to build a symbol set. Refer to ???Unbound Scalable Fonts??? in Chapter 9, for a description of symbol collections and unbound fonts.

Each bit in the field represents a specific collection. Setting a bit to 1 indicates that collection is required; setting the bit to 0 indicates that collection is not required. (Bit 63 refers to the most significant bit of the first byte, and bit 0 refers to the least significant bit of the eight byte field.) The bit representations for the collections are shown below. (The symbols for each collection are shown in Appendix D

of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide.)

MSL Symbol Index Character Requirements

Unicode Symbol Index Character Requirements Bits

Examples of values for the field include:

Symbol Map (Array of UI)

The symbol map contains a list of symbol index numbers. This list identifies symbols for the symbol set. (Refer to Appendix D in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for a MSL and Unicode symbol indexes.) The symbol map pairs (maps) a character code to a symbol index number. The range of character code numbers (paired with symbol index numbers) is the range from the First Code through the Last Code fields in the header. The first symbol index number in the Symbol Map field is mapped to the character code whose value is that of the First Code field; the second symbol index number is mapped to the ???First Code + 1??? character code; the third symbol index number is mapped to the ???First Code + 2,??? etc., through the last symbol index number, which is mapped to the value in the Last Code field. The number of symbol index characters in the array must match the number of character codes in the range, First Code through Last Code.

If no printable symbol (symbol index number) is associated with a given character code (as with codes 128 through 160 of Roman-8), the corresponding entry in the Symbol Map should be 65535 (FFFF Hex).

Symbol Set Control Command

This command provides a means for making user-defined symbol sets permanent or temporary, and for deleting them.

EC * c # S

# = 0 -Delete all temporary and permanent user-defined symbol sets.

1- Delete all temporary user-defined symbol sets.

2- Delete current user-defined symbol set

(last symbol set ID code specified).

4 - Make current user-defined symbol set temporary. 5 - Make current user-defined symbol set permanent.

Downloaded symbol sets default to temporary.

Internal symbol sets cannot be deleted or made temporary.

User-Defined Symbol Set Examples

The following two examples illustrate the concept of user-defined symbol sets. They create symbol sets for PC-8 in MSL and Unicode symbol indexes. The necessary escape sequences are shown in each example.

Unicode Symbol Index Example

Symbol Map Data:

Symbol Map Data: (continued)

11 Soft Font Creation

Introduction

A font that is downloaded (transferred) from a computer to a printer is called a soft font. A PCL soft font contains a font header and a set of character definitions. The font header and character definitions contain all the information needed to format a font for use in the HP LaserJet printers.

Every PCL font header begins with a font descriptor, which identifies the basic characteristics common to all characters of a font, such as font type, baseline position, character cell width and height, character orientation, symbol set, etc.

Every PCL character definition contains a character descriptor and a body of character data. Furthermore, the character definition always consists of one or more character data blocks. Each character data block begins with its own character data block header.

The character descriptor is a block of data that identifies the characteristics for a specific character, such as its position, and the cursor position after printing. The character data which follows defines the shape of the character.

This chapter describes the font header and character definition formats for PCL Bitmap fonts, Intellifont scalable and TrueType scalable fonts. By formatting a font consistent with the header format requirements, a user may download this information (the font) to the printer using the Font Header command and the Character Descriptor/Data command. One additional command, the Character Code command, required to identify the ASCII character code assigned to each character, is also described in this chapter.

The definition of a font with a quantity n characters would appear as shown below.

Table 11-1

Font ID Command

Font Header

Character Code1

Character Descriptor1

Character Data1

Character Code2

Character Descriptor2

Character Data2

M

Character Coden

Character Descriptorn

Character Datan

The master font design size is 250 points (a CG point=.01383 inches). There are 8782 units per Em at the Master Font Size.

Figure 11-2 Agfa Design Window

TrueType Scalable Fonts

TrueType scalable font character coordinates are typically based on a system of 2048 units per Em. The baseline is defined by y-coordinate=0. The left reference is usually defined by x-coordinate=0 (although there is some variation among fonts). To determine the left reference line for an individual TrueType character, subtract the LSB value found in the hmtx table from the xMin value found in the glyf table. See True Type Font Files for more information.

Font Header Command

The Font Header command is used to download font header data to the printer.

EC ) s # W [font header data]

The value field (#) identifies the number of bytes in the font header. The font header fields are described under Font Header Format, later in this chapter.

Font Header Format

The font header describes those characteristics of a font which are common to all its characters. Five font headers are included here:

zFormat 0 Font Header for PCL Bitmapped Fonts - This font header, shown in Table 11-2, is not recommended for LaserJet 4 and later printers. It is included in this manual to maintain backward-compatibility with earlier versions of PCL.

zFormat 20 Font Header for Resolution-Specified Bitmapped Fonts - This header replaces the previous bitmap header, and has the added capability to specify a font???s resolution. This font header is shown in Table 11-3.

zFormat 10 Font Header for Intellifont Bound Scalable Fonts - For creating Intellifont scalable fonts which are restricted (bound) to a single symbol set. This font header is shown in .

zFormat 11 Font Header for Intellifont Unbound Scalable Fonts - For creating Intellifont scalable fonts which are not bound to a single symbol set, but are instead composed of a range of compatible symbol collections. This font header is shown in .

zFormat 15 TrueType Scalable Font Header - This new font header supports TrueType scalable fonts (bound or unbound). This font header is shown in Table 11-6.

Table 11-2 Format 0 Font Header (for PCL Bitmapped Fonts)

Table 11-3 Format 20 Font Header (for Resolution-Specified

Bitmapped) (continued)

Table 11-4 Format 10 Font Header (for Intellifont Bound Scalable) (continued)

Table 11-5 Format 11 Font Header (for Intellifont Unbound Scalable Fonts)

Table 11-5 Format 11 Font Header (for Intellifont Unbound

Scalable Fonts) (continued)

Table 11-5 Format 11 Font Header (for Intellifont Unbound

Scalable Fonts) (continued)

Table 11-6 Format 15 Font Header (for TrueType Scalable

Fonts)

Table 11-6 Format 15 Font Header (for TrueType Scalable Fonts) (continued)

Data Types

In the font header and character descriptor information that follows, the abbreviations shown below are used to define the data type of each field:

Table 11-7 Font Header Field Data Type Notation

Table 11-7 Font Header Field Data Type Notation (continued)

Font Descriptor Size (UI)

Specifies the number of bytes in the font descriptor. See the font header figure for the appropriate font descriptor size.

Header Format (UB)

The Header Format byte identifies the font to format (see below).

Table 11-8 Header Format Values

Font Type (UB)

Font type describes the font???s relation to symbol sets.

Table 11-9 Font Type Values

0Bound font. Character codes 32 to 127 [decimal] are printable.

1Bound font. Character codes 32 to 127 [decimal] and 160 to 255 [decimal] are printable.

Table 11-9 Font Type Values (continued)

2Bound font. All character codes 0 to 255 are printable, except 0, 7 to 15, and 27 [decimal] (see note below).

10Unbound font. Character codes correspond to HP MSL numbers (for Intellifont unbound scalable fonts).

11Unbound font. Character codes correspond to Unicode numbers (for TrueType unbound scalable fonts).

Style MSB (UI)

The Style MSB (byte 4) is combined with the Style LSB (byte 23) to make the style word. The contents of the style word are described below. The Style word (decimal) is calculated using the formula:

Style Word = Posture + (4 x Width) + (32 x Structure)

The binary structure of the Style word is shown below.

Table 11-10

Table 11-11

Example

Assuming a font style of ???italic compressed contour??? is desired, the value (#) would be:

1 + (2??4) + (3??32) = 105

Baseline Position (UI)

Bitmap Font - Specifies the distance from the top of the cell to the baseline. The baseline is the dot row on which all of the characters in a given line appear to stand (see ). The measurement of this distance is in font resolution dots, as defined in the Resolution Field of a Format 20 font header (default=300 dpi).

Intellifont Scalable - Specifies a Y-coordinate in the design window (refer to Figure 11-2.)

TrueType Scalable - Baseline Position must be set to zero.

Cell Width (UI)

Specifies the width of the cell. The cell must be wide enough to accept the widest character. The cell width range is 1 to 65535.

Bitmap Font - Specified in PCL coordinate system dots.

Scalable Font - Specified in design units.

Cell Height (UI)

Specifies the height of the cell. The design cell for a font must be tall enough to accept the tallest character and greatest descender. The legal range is 1 to 65535.

Bitmap Font - Specified in PCL coordinate system dots.

Scalable Font - Specified in design units.

Figure 11-3 Character Cell - Bitmap

Orientation (UB)

Specifies the orientation of the font. All characters within the font must have the same orientation as those specified in the font header; otherwise they are discarded as they are downloaded.

0 = portrait (0 degrees; the orientation of the raster scan of the printer)

1 = landscape (90 degrees counterclockwise)

2 = reverse portrait (180 degrees counterclockwise)

3 = reverse landscape (270 degrees counterclockwise)

Spacing (B)

Specifies the spacing of the font. A value of zero (0) specifies fixed spacing and one (1) specifies proportional spacing.

Symbol Set (UI)

Specifies the symbol set for the font. This value is computed by taking the value of the value field for the symbol set, multiplying it by 32, adding the decimal (ASCII) value of the termination character (the symbol set ID character value) of the escape sequence, and subtracting 64.

For example, to compute the value for the ASCII (ISO-6) symbol set (Value = 0, ID = U):

0U = (0??32) + (85???64) = 21

The legal range of symbol set escape sequence field values is 0 to 2047. Refer to Appendix C in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for the HP defined symbol set values for use in the font header.

HP reserves the right to define the symbol set escape sequence value field values of 0 to 1023. Symbol set escape sequence value field values 1024 to 2047 are available for use by independent font vendors.

Height (UI)

Bitmap Font - Specifies the design height of the font in quarter-dots (radix dots). This value, converted to points, is used as the height

characteristic value of the font. A PCL point is 1 (0.01389) inch.

-----

72

It combines with Height Extended to specify the design height of the font in 1024th-dot (fonts designed at 300 dpi).

For example, a 10 point font at 300 dpi has a height of 166

quarter-dots (radix dots) (1200 quarter dots/inch, 1 inch/point)

-----

The remainder 0.667 is converted back to dots and then to

1024th-dot for a value of 170 1024th-dot for the Height Extended field (similar to that shown in the example for Pitch, above).

Intellifont Scalable - Specifies the master design height of the font in

TrueType Scalable - Set the Height field to zero.

xHeight (UI)

Bitmap Font - Specifies the height of the lower case ???x??? in quarter-dots (radix dots).

Scalable Fonts - Specifies the distance from the baseline to the lower case ???x??? height in design units.

Width Type (SB)

Specifies the proportionate width of characters in the font.

Style LSB (UB)

The least significant byte (LSB) of the Style word. Refer to Style MSB for a description of the Style word.

Stroke Weight (SB)

Specifies the thickness of the strokes used in designing the font. The supported stroke weight values are -7 through 7. The thinnest stroke available is -7; the thickest stroke weight is 7. The standard stroke weight for a medium font is 0; the standard stroke weight for a bold font is 3; and, the standard stroke weight for a light font is -3.

Table 11-14 Stroke Weight Values

Table 11-14 Stroke Weight Values (continued)

0Medium, Book, or Text

1Semi Bold

2Demi Bold

3Bold

4Extra Bold

5Black

6Extra Black

7Ultra Black

Typeface (UB)

This field specifies the HP typeface number of the font. The current version of this field, supported by the &payette; printer, is described first. Then a previous field, supported in earlier printers, is described.

Current Usage

In the LaserJet 4 printer version of this field, an unsigned short integer is assembled from the two unsigned bytes of data. Printers, when seeking to match a typeface request with available font resources, may treat the typeface number as a single value. If an exact match cannot be made, the request may be ignored (for selection purposes, however, the font select table is updated).

The procedure for allocating typeface numbers for the font products of various vendors, however, will consider the typeface number to be composed of two distinct fields: a vendor field (consisting of the four most significant bits) and a typeface family field (consisting of the 12 least significant bits). The following diagram illustrates this scheme:

Vendor Number - Bits 15 - 12. This value is assigned by HP and is between decimal values 0 and 15.

Typeface Family Number - Bits 11 - 0 This value is between 0 and 4095. See Appendix C in the PCL 5 Comparison Guide.

Typeface Family Values are calculated according to the following formula:

Example

The HP typeface number for Agfa Dom Casual typeface is 4157 (vendor value=1, and typeface value=61):

61 + (1 ?? 4096) = 4157

Previous Usage

The previous treatment of the Typeface field supported the LaserJet IIP, IID and LaserJet III family printers. It consisted of the Typeface Least Significant Byte (LSB; the original, one-byte typeface value used prior to the LaserJet IID printer) and the Typeface Most Significant Byte (MSB) in the font header.

The previous typeface family value field is shown below. It included a 4-bit field to specify the vendor number, a 2-bit field for the version number, and a 9-bit field which contained the typeface base number. The most significant bit of the MSB was always zero.

Table 11-17 Typeface Family Value (Previous)

Table 11-18 Previous Vendor Number Values

Vendor-Version The Vendor-version (bits 10 and 9) value was from 0 to 3. It changed when the vendor changed the width or design of the characters in a font.

Serif Style (UB)

Specifies one of the following defined serif styles.

Serif Style values 0-63 (the lower six bits of the style field) are ignored by the printer for bitmap fonts. However, the upper two bits (bits 6 and 7) are used by a scalable font header to determine the serif style of the typeface insensitive characters to complement the font. Serif style values for the lower six bits are listed in the table below. Serif style values for the upper two bits are listed in the following table.

Underline Position (Distance) (SB)

Bitmap Font - Specifies the distance from the baseline to the top dot row of the underline in font design dots. Zero specifies an underline position at the baseline. A positive value specifies an underline position above the baseline. A negative value specifies an underline position below the baseline.

Scalable Font - Set Underline Position to zero. The Master Underline Position field (see below) identifies this information for scalable fonts.

Underline Thickness (UB)

Specifies the thickness of the underline in font design dots for a bitmap font.

Bitmap Font - A bitmap font prints three-dot thick underlines at 300 dpi (six-dot thick at 600 dpi).

Scalable Font - Set Underline Thickness to zero. The Master Underline Thickness field (see below) identifies this information for scalable fonts.

Text Height (UI)

Specifies the font???s optimum inter-line spacing. This value is typically equal to 120% of the height of the font.

Bitmap Font - Specified in quarter-dots (radix dots).

Scalable Fonts - Specified in design units.

Text Width (UI)

Specifies the font???s average lowercase character width. (This average width may be weighted on the basis of relative frequency.)

Bitmap Font - Specified in quarter-dots (radix dots).

Scalable Font - Specified in design units.

Scalable Font - Set Pitch Extended field to zero.

Height Extended (UB)

Bitmap Font - This is an addition to the Height field which extends the height an extra eight bits. The value of this field is in font design units. For example, a 10 point font designed at 300 dpi would have a Height field of 166 (41.5 dots, or 9.96 points) and a Height Extended field of 170 (0.1660 dots additional, which adds to 9.9998 points).

This field is calculated similar to the Pitch Extended field. Refer to the Pitch description, above.

Scalable Font - Set The Height Extended field to zero.

Cap Height (UI)

Cap Height is a percentage of the Em of the font and is used to calculate the distance from the capline (top of an unaccented, uppercase letter, such as an ???H???) to the baseline.

Bitmap Font - Fonts containing a 0 in this field are assumed to have a cap height percentage of 70.87% of Em (Em being a measure, in points, of the height of the body of the font.

The Cap Height data is represented as the product of the cap height percentage and the maximum unsigned integer:

0.7087 ?? 65535 = 46,445

For non-zero values, the Cap Height % is calculated as follows:

Scalable Font - Contains the cap height in design units.

Font Number (ULI)

The Font Number field uses four bytes (byte 44, 45, 46, and 47). The lower three bytes (45, 46, and 47) contain the font number in hexadecimal. This is the number the vendor assigns to their typeface. The most significant byte (byte 44) consists of a flag in the most significant bit indicating whether the font is in its native (0) format or has been converted (1) from another format. The remaining lower seven bits contain the ASCII decimal value for the first initial of the font vendor???s name (this is assigned by Hewlett-Packard). The following initials have been assigned:

Table 11-23

For example, the number that Agfa assigns for a CG Times Bold Italic, native format, font is 92505. This number is converted to hexadecimal and used for the lower three bytes of the Font Number. Bit 8 of byte 44 is 0, since the native format is used and the lower seven bits are the ASCII value for ???C??? (C for Compugraphic; 0100 0011). This process is summarized below.

Figure 11-4

This field is ignored by the printer for bitmap fonts.

Font Name (ASC16)

This is a 16 character ASCII field to which you may assign a font name. The font name is used in the Typeface List (or Font List printout), under Name or Typeface (if the printer does not have a name string assigned to the typeface family code in its font selection table).

X Resolution (UI)

The X Resolution field is the pixel resolution in the X scan direction at which the font was designed.

Individually defined bits are shown in the following two tables:

Table 11-27 MSL Symbol Index Character Complement Bits

Table 11-28 Unicode Symbol Index Character Complement Bits

There are no invalid Character Complement field values. Examples of values for the field include:

Table 11-29

Table 11-30 below shows the structure of the Segmented Font Data section.

Table 11-30 Segmented Font Data

x = Font Descriptor Size.

# = Font header length (as defined in Font Header command).

Segment Identifier (UI)

Each entry in the Segmented Font Data Section has its own unique identification number. The following values are defined:

Table 11-31

Data segments with an unrecognized identifier are ignored.

Segment Size (UI)

For each entry in the Segmented Font Data section, the Segment Size indicates the number of bytes in the immediately following Data Segment. The size for the Null Segment is 0.

Formats of Data Segments

AP (Application Support Segment) The definition of this segment is reserved.

CC (Character Complement) This field has the same form (i.e., 8 unsigned bytes) and function as does the Character Complement of Format 11 fonts. The Character Complement field should be present with type 10 and 11 (unbound) fonts, but has no role to play in type 0, 1 and 2 (bound) fonts.

CP, copyright This field will consist of ASCII data and is optional.

GI (Global Intellifont Data) Reserved for future use.

GT (Global TrueType Data) This data segment contains first a Table Directory, then five or more tables used by the TrueType font scaler. Every TrueType font needs to have this segment.

The Table Directory is patterned after the initial segment of the TrueType font file as described in True Type Font Files. The Table Directory has a 12-byte header and 16 bytes per entry in the Table Directory. The Table Directory is organized in alphabetical order by the 4-byte table names. For each entry, there is an offset relative to the beginning of the soft font???s Global TrueType Data Segment.

The Global TrueType Data for every TrueType font entity must contain a head, hhea, hmtx and maxp table.

Another required table is the gdir table. When the font header is downloaded, the gdir table should have a size of 0 and an offset of 0. The gdir table is then built in RAM to accommodate the maximum number of glyphs to be downloaded to the given font ??? with 2 or 4 bytes of offset and 2 bytes of length per glyph. This maximum number of glyphs is obtained from the numGlyphs field of the maxp table. Entries in the gdir table are filled in by the TrueType rasterizer as characters are downloaded.

The optional cvt, fpgm and prep tables, as defined in True Type Font Files, typically appear in the Global TrueType Data Segments of hinted TrueType soft fonts, but should not appear in unhinted fonts.

IF (Intellifont Face Data) Reserved for future use.

PA (PANOSE Description) This data segment of variable length may be used for the purpose of font selection and substitution. Its definition continues to evolve. A 10-field (10-byte) version sufficient for the description of most Latin fonts appears under the OS/2 table

in True Type Font Files.

PF (PS-Compatible Font Name) Reserved for future use.

XW (x-windows font name) This ASCII field contains standard X-Windows font names.

Checksum

The value of this byte, when added to the sum of all of the bytes from byte 64 of the descriptor through the Reserved byte, should equal 0 in modulo 256 arithmetic.

Font Header Examples

Two examples for downloading a Font Header are provided below; one for a bitmap font and one for an Intellifont scalable font.

Bitmap Example

To download a bitmap font header for a portrait HP Roman-8, 10 pitch, 12 point, upright, medium, Courier font, with an ID number of one, send:

EC*c1D (set Font ID to 1)

EC)s#W (# = 64 bytes of font descriptor data + x bytes of optional data)

An example of the bitmap header is shown on the following page.

Table 11-32

Table 11-33

Table 11-33 (continued)

Table 11-33 (continued)

Character Definitions

Character Code Command

The Character Code command establishes the decimal code that is associated with the next character downloaded. This value is used to reference the character for printing.

EC * c # E

For TrueType fonts, a special code must be used to download glyphs which never stand alone as characters. FFFF (hex) should be used for this purpose.

Example

To designate the character code for an ASCII lower-case ???p???, send:

EC*c112E

Character Definition Command

The Character Descriptor and Data command is used to download character data blocks to the printer for both bitmap and scalable fonts.

EC ( s # W [character descriptor and data]

Character Descriptor Formats

Character definition formats for PCL Bitmap, Intellifont Scalable and TrueType Scalable fonts are shown on the following pages.

Table 11-34 Character Descriptors/Data Continuation Block

Character Descriptor and Data Format for PCL Bitmap Fonts

The descriptor of a PCL bitmap character is at least 14 bytes long and contains information such as the character???s width and height.

The character data is binary (raster) data that identifies the shape of the character.

Table 11-35 shows the format of the bitmap character descriptor and data.

Table 11-35 PCL Bitmap Character Descriptor

and Data Format

Continuation (B)

This is the second (and last) byte of every character data block header. It specifies whether the following data is the first (0) data block of a new character definition, or a continuation (1) block for a character definition which has already been received by the printer. Because the value field in a Character Definition command is limited to 32767 bytes, characters whose byte count exceed this must be sent in two or more blocks.

Descriptor Size (UB)

This is the first byte of the character descriptor. It specifies the size of the character descriptor in bytes. The descriptor size used by the HP LaserJet printer family for bitmap fonts is 14.

Class (UB)

Specifies the format of the character data. For bitmap fonts only values 1 and 2 are used, as described below.

Table 11-38

Value Class

1Bitmap

2Compressed Bitmap

* These are described later in this chapter.

Class 1 - Bitmap Data

Class 1 or bitmap (raster) character data is a string of bytes containing the dot-per-bit image of the character, no data compression. If a bit is set to one, the corresponding dot is printed. The data is grouped in dot rows. A row describes a one-dot-high strip of the character from left to right, in the direction of the printer???s raster scan (see the Portrait Bitmap Character Data Example, at the end of this chapter). Zeroed bits must be added to the end of each row to make it contain an integral number of bytes. The dot rows are organized from top to bottom of the character. For example, the first dot row of data corresponds to the top dot row of the character.

The number of bytes of the character data should be exactly Character Width (in bytes) times Character Height. If more

data is received, it is discarded; if less data is received, the character consists of only the data downloaded.

Class 2 - Compressed Bitmap Data

For a compressed bitmap character, the data is composed of a string of bytes using a run-length encoding with line repetition compressed format (see Figure 11-2). The first byte indicates the number of times the first raster row is repeated after its initial occurrence. It is assumed that the first pixel in a row is white, hence the second byte indicates how many white pixels start the row. The third byte indicates how many black pixels, the fourth byte indicates the number of white pixels again, etc. If the first pixel in a row is black, the white pixel indicator (the second byte) is 0. If there are more than 255 pixels in a row of the same type, there is a byte containing 255, followed by a 0 byte, followed by a byte containing the count of remaining pixels of the current type.

The width of each row is determined by the character width (in dots) as specified in the character descriptor for the character. The pixel count (number of 1???s and 0???s bits) for each row in the character cell must equal the character width. For example, in Figure 11-5, the cell width is 20, thus each row (excluding the repetition count byte) adds up to 20.

Once the row has been filled, the row is duplicated as indicated in its first byte, then a new row is started.

Figure 11-5 Class 2 Character Data

Orientation (UB)

Orientation byte specifies the orientation of the character. The orientation of the character must match the orientation of the font.

Table 11-39

Value Orientation

0Portrait

1Landscape

2Reverse portrait

3Reverse landscape

If the orientation is not supported or is different from the orientation specified in the font header, the character is discarded.

Left Offset (SI)

Left offset specifies the distance in dots from the reference point to the left side of the character pattern on the physical page coordinate system (this value is orientation dependent). The left and top offsets locate the character reference point about the cursor position (see Figure 11-6 and Figure 11-7).

PCL 5 printers support kerning (both negative left and right side bearings) of both fixed-pitch and proportionally-spaced fonts. Note that large offsets could place the character off the printable area of the page causing the character to be clipped.

The legal range for the left offset is ???16384 to 16384 dots.

Top Offset (SI)

Top offset specifies the distance in dots from the reference point to the top of the character pattern on the physical coordinate system (this value is orientation dependent.) The left and top offsets locate the character reference point about the cursor position (see Figure 11-6 and Figure 11-7). The legal range for the top offset is ???16384 to 16384 dots.

Character Width (UI)

The Character Width, used for bitmap fonts only, identifies the width of the character in dots on the physical coordinate system. Generally, this width is from the farthest left black dot to the farthest right black dot. Character width is orientation dependent.

The legal range for character width is 1 to 16384 dots.

Character Height (UI)

Character Height specifies the height of the character in dots on the physical coordinate system. Character height is orientation dependent.

The legal range for character height is 1 to 16384 dots.

Delta X (SI)

Delta X specifies the number of quarter dots (radix dots) by which the horizontal position within the logical page coordinate system is incremented after printing the character. This value is only used by the printer when the font is proportionally spaced.

The legal range for delta X is ???32768 to 32767 quarter units.

Character Data

Character data is a string of bytes containing the dot-per-bit image of the character or a run-length encoding with line repetition compressed format.

Figure 11-6 Portrait Character Example

Figure 11-7 Landscape Character Example

Character Descriptor and Data Format for Intellifont Scalable Fonts

The character header contains a block of bytes that identify character outline data. Table 11-40 and Table 11-41 show the format of the Intellifont scalable character descriptor and data

.

Table 11-40 Intellifont Scalable Character Descriptor and

Data Format

1.Continuation is supported for classes 1, 2, 3 and 15 only.

2.These bytes appear only on the last continuation.

Table 11-41 Intellifont Scalable Contour Data Format

Table 11-41 Intellifont Scalable Contour Data Format

Contour Tree Data

M

XY Coordinate Data

M

Table 11-42 Intellifont Scalable Character Descriptors/Data

Continuation Block

1.Continuation is supported for Intellifont scalable fonts for class 3 only.

2.This byte appears only on the last continuation.

Table 11-43 Intellifont Scalable Compound Character Descriptor

and Data Format

Format (UB)

This is the first byte of every character data block header. It specifies the format of the character descriptor and data. The format number for Intellifont scalable fonts is 10.

Table 11-44

Value Format

4* LaserJet Family (Raster)

10 Intellifont Scalable

15* TrueType Scalable

* These are described elsewhere in this chapter.

If the format number is different from that expected by the device, the character is discarded.

Continuation (B)

This is the second (and last) byte of every character data block header. It specifies whether the following data is the first (0) data block of a new character definition, or a continuation (1) block for a character definition which has already been received by the printer. Because the value field in a Character Definition command is limited to 32767 bytes, characters whose byte count exceed this must be sent in two or more blocks. Table 11-42 shows the continuation block for an Intellifont Scalable font.

Descriptor Size (UB)

This is the first byte of the character descriptor. It specifies the size of the character descriptor in bytes. The typical descriptor size for Intellifont scalable fonts is 2.

Class (UB)

Specifies the format of the character data. For Intellifont scalable fonts values 3 and 4 are used, as described below.

Table 11-45

3Contour (Intellifont Scalable)

4Compound Contour (Intellifont Scalable) 15* TrueType Scalable

*These are described elsewhere in this chapter.

Class 3 -Intellifont Scalable Character Contour Data

Class 3 is for Intellifont scalable contour character data. The contour character data is organized as described in Table 11-41. Bytes 0-3 contain the character descriptor.

Class 4 - Intellifont Scalable Compound Character

Data

A class 4 character is a compound character and composition data follows. The composition data is organized as described in Table 11-43. The compound descriptor allows combining two different characters to produce a single compound character.

Contour Data Size (UI)

The size of the contour data including the size of this field. For a detailed description of this field, refer to Intellifont Scalable Typeface

Format.

Metric Data Offset (SI)

The offset to the Metric Data relative to the address of the Contour Data Size field.

Character Intellifont Data Offset (SI)

The offset to the Character Intellifont Data relative to the address of the Contour Data Size field.

Contour Tree Offset (SI)

The offset to the contour Tree Data relative to the address of the Contour Data Size field.

XY Data Offset (SI)

The offset to the XY data relative to the address of the Contour Data Size field.

Metric Data

For information about Metric Data refer to the Intellifont Scalable Typeface Format document.

Character Intellifont Scalable Data

For information about Character Intellifont Scalable Data, refer to

Intellifont Scalable Typeface Format.

Contour Tree Data

For information about Contour Tree Data, refer to Intellifont Scalable Typeface Format.

XY Coordinate Data

For information about XY Coordinate Data, refer to Intellifont Scalable Typeface Format.

Checksum

This is a checksum of all the contour character data. The checksum value is contained only in the last character data block.

Compound Character Escapement (SI)

The escapement in design units of a compound character.

Number of Components (UB)

The number of components of a compound character.

Component List

This is a list of component descriptions. The list contains Number of Components elements. Each component descriptor consists of 6 bytes as described in Table 11-46 below.

Character Descriptor and Data Format for

TrueType Fonts

Table 11-47 shows the format of the TrueType character descriptor and data when a continuation block is not required. Table 11-49 (next page) shows the format of the TrueType character descriptor and data with multiple character data blocks.

Table 11-47 TrueType Character Descriptor (no continuation block required)

Table 11-48 (continued)

Table 11-49 TrueType Character Descriptor (multiple character data blocks)

# = Character data block size as defined in Character Definition command.

Format (UB)

This is the first byte of every character data block header. It specifies the format for character downloading. The number 15 designates the TrueType character format.

Table 11-50

15TrueType Scalable

*These are described elsewhere in this chapter.

Continuation (B)

This is the second (and last) byte of every character data block header. It specifies whether the following data is the first (0) data block of a new character definition, or a continuation (1) block for a character definition which has already been received by the printer. Because the value field in a Character Definition command is limited to 32767 bytes, characters whose byte count exceed this must be sent in two or more blocks.

Descriptor Size (UB)

This is the first byte of the character descriptor. It specifies the size of the character descriptor in bytes. The character descriptor includes everything that is both after the continuation byte and prior to the Character Data Size field. The TrueType character descriptor includes this Descriptor Size byte plus the following Class byte. The minimum value for Descriptor Size is therefore 2. (Additional descriptor information, if any, can be added immediately after the Class byte.)

Class (UB)

This field is used to distinguish different character data types within a given character format. (For instance, among Intellifont characters of format 10, the Class byte is used to distinguish compound characters from simple Intellifont contour characters.) All TrueType scalable characters are handed to the TrueType font scaler in the same format, consequently, the Class byte does not provide vital new information. For TrueType, set the Class value to 15.

Table 11-51

15TrueType Scalable

*These are described elsewhere in this chapter.

Character Data Size (UI)

The value of the Character Data Size should equal the sum of the sizes of the Character Data Size, Glyph ID, and TrueType Glyph Data fields. This value alerts the PCL interpreter when a continuation block is needed. The minimum possible value is 4. The value of Character Data Size plus Descriptor Size plus 4 (for the Format, Continuation, Reserved and Checksum bytes) will never be less than the value # given in the character download command. If the sum is exactly equal to #, then no continuation block is to be expected for the given character. However, if the sum exceeds #, then a continuation block is needed. A condition for the validity of a downloaded scalable TrueType character is that the sum of the # values for all of that character???s data blocks equals the sum of the Descriptor Size and Character Data Size and 2 (for Reserved and Checksum), plus 2 times the number of character data blocks (for Format and Continuation bytes).

Glyph ID (UI)

This field is used by the TrueType font scaler as an ID number for the glyph data associated with the given character.

TrueType Glyph Data

This field contains the data segment associated with the given character as found in the glyf table of the original TrueType font file. See the description in True Type Font Files.

Checksum (UB)

The value of this byte, when added to the sum of all of the bytes in the Character Data Size, Glyph ID, and TrueType Glyph Data fields, should equal 0 in modulo 256 arithmetic. The Checksum is found only in the last character data block associated with a given character.

Character Definition Examples

Table 11-52 Character Format, Continuation, and Descriptor

Table 11-53 Portrait Character Data Example

Table 11-53 Portrait Character Data Example (continued)

Bitmap Landscape Character Example

To download the character descriptor and data for a landscape, 10 pitch, 12 point, upright, medium, Courier lower-case ???p???, send:

EC*c112E (112 is the decimal character code for an ASCII lower-case ???p???)

EC(s120W [character descriptor and data]

Table 11-54 Character Format, Continuation and Descriptor

Table 11-55 Landscape Character Data Example

Table 11-55 Landscape Character Data Example (continued)

12 Macros

Hewlett-Packard provides a service to assist you by developing these custom products. For information contact:

Hewlett-Packard Boise Printer Division

Attention: Product Specials 11311 Chinden Blvd. Boise, ID 83714

(208) 323-3684

Macro Creation

Designate a unique identification (ID) number prior to the definition of a macro using the Macro ID command. This number is assigned to the macro. If a macro is already associated with this ID number, the previously existing macro is deleted from user memory during the definition of the new macro. Subsequent macro operations are accomplished using the macro ID number.

A macro is created in the printer in several steps. First, the start macro command is sent to the printer to indicate the start of a macro definition. Next, the printer commands, control codes, and data that constitute the macro are sent to the printer, in the intended order of their execution. Finally, the End Macro command is sent to the printer to indicate the end of the macro definition

Table 12-1

To invoke a macro, send the Macro ID command with the ID number of the macro, then send the Macro Control command with a value field of 2, 3, or 4 (EC&f2X, EC&f3X, or EC&f4X). This performs the macro in the specified mode: Execute (value field=2), Call (value field=3), or Overlay (value field=4). Refer to the following section ???Macro Invocation??? for a description of these modes.

Macros occupy a portion of user memory. The number of macros that can be stored simultaneously in user memory is limited only by the amount of available user memory.

Macro Invocation

Deleting Macros

There are several mechanisms provided by PCL macro control for explicit deletion of macros from user memory. These include commands to delete all macros, all temporary macros, or an individual macro by reference to its macro ID number, using the Macro Control command described later in this chapter.

Both temporary and permanent macros are deleted from memory whenever the printer???s power is turned off.

Macro ID

The Macro ID command specifies an ID number for use in subsequent macro commands.

EC & f # Y

#=Macro ID number

This number is used in subsequent macro operations.

The factory default macro ID is 0.

Example

To establish a macro ID number of 5, send:

EC & f 5 Y

Macro Control

The macro control command provides mechanisms for definition, invocation, and deletion of macros.

EC & f # X

Other than call and execute, no macro control operations may occur within a macro.

A printer reset command (ECE or UEL) is not allowed in a macro.

HP-GL/2 commands are not supported within macros on all

HP LaserJet printers. Refer to the ???PCL Feature Support Matrix??? in Chapter 1 of the &cguide; for specifics. HP-GL/2 commands as well as the PCL command ???Enter HP-GL/2 mode???E(C%#B) and the PCL picture frame directives are not recommended within a macro.

PCL macro control commands are not allowed while in HP-GL/2 context.

ROM-Based Macros

Macros can be supplied in ROM (read only memory), such as custom macro cartridges or on SIMM modules. The following considerations apply to all ROM-based macros.

zROM-based macros include the macro ID numbers for their macros. These numbers cannot be changed. It is possible for a downloaded macro to be assigned the same ID number as a ROM macro. If this occurs, the downloaded macro has precedence. To access the ROM macro, the downloaded macro must be deleted.

zThe ID numbers for ROM-based macros range from 0-32767.

zIn case of conflicting ID numbers in ROM-based macros, the following priorities apply:

1Cartridge macros. (In printers that have two cartridge slots, one cartridge has priority over the other. This priority depends on the printer. Refer to Appendix E of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for the macro cartridge priority.)

2SIMM macros. SIMM 1=highest, then SIMM 2, etc.

Example

To define a macro with an ID of 7, send:

EC&f7y0X

z

z

z

escape sequences, control codes, and data

z

z

z

To stop the macro definition, send:

EC&f1X

To make the macro with an ID of 7 permanent, send:

EC&f7y10X

To enable the macro with an ID of 7 for automatic overlay, send:

EC&f7y4X

To delete the macro with an ID of 7, send:

EC&f7y8X

Macro Control Example

The following illustrates the definition of a letterhead macro.

Table 12-4

Table 12-4 (continued)

This macro now can be executed, called, or enabled for automatic overlay.

13 The PCL Print Model

Introduction

The Print Model feature allows images and characters to be filled with any of the printer???s predefined shading or cross-hatch patterns, or with a user-defined pattern. Images include any raster graphic, such as one created with PCL raster graphics commands (as described in Chapter 15, Raster Graphics); a rectangular fill area (as described in Chapter 14, PCL Rectangular Area Fill Graphics); or a character or characters selected from any font.

Print model operation defines a pattern, source image, and destination image. These images are applied to each other using the print model???s transparent and opaque modes to produce a resulting image that is a combination of the others. The print model features, listed below, are illustrated in Figure 13-1 and Figure 13-2, and described on the following pages.

zPattern

zSource Image

zDestination Image

zSource Transparency Mode

zPattern Transparency Mode

Figure 13-1 Print Model Imaging

Pattern Transparency Mode

The transparency or opaqueness of the white pixels in the pattern. When set to 0 (transparent), these pixels have no effect on the destination; when set to 1 (opaque), they are applied through the black pixels of the source pattern to the destination.

Figure 13-2 Opaque and Transparency Modes

Figure 13-3 illustrates the effects of the source and pattern transparency modes on the final image.

In the first example (1a), the transparency mode for both the source image and the pattern is transparent. Since the source mode is ???transparent,??? only the black-pixeled region (the circle) of the source image is overlaid on the destination. Since the pattern mode is also transparent, the patterned source image is applied only to the white areas of the destination image.

In the second example (1b), the source mode is still ???transparent,??? but the pattern mode is ???opaque??? ??? so the pattern???s white pixels are applied to the destination. The resulting image shows the entire circle region visible and patterned.

In the third example (1c), the source mode is ???opaque??? and the pattern mode is transparent. Since the source mode is opaque, the entire source image (the circle and the surrounding square) appears overlaid onto the destination. The pattern, however, is allowed to pour through only onto the white-pixeled area of the destination. The circle is visible in the result, but only two opposing quarters appeared patterned.

In the fourth example (1d), both source and pattern modes are ???opaque.??? The entire source image is overlaid onto the destination, and the entire circle is patterned.

Figure 13-3 Effect of Transparency Modes on Images

Command Sequence

The following illustration shows the Print Model Command Sequence for selecting a current pattern and using it to fill a destination image.

Table 13-1

Table 13-1 (continued)

???

???

End of Page Data

Source Transparency Mode Command

The Select Source Transparency Mode command sets the source image???s transparency mode to transparent or opaque.

EC * v # N

#=0 - Transparent 1 - Opaque

With a transparency mode of ???0??? (transparent), the white regions of the source image are not be copied onto the destination. With a transparency mode of ???1??? (opaque), the white pixels in the source are applied directly onto the destination.

Refer to the preceding definitions and the discussion of Figure 13-3 for an explanation of the effects of transparency.

Pattern Transparency Mode Command

The Pattern Transparency Mode command sets the pattern???s transparency mode to transparent or opaque.

EC * v # O

#=0 - Transparent 1 - Opaque

A transparency mode of ???0??? (transparent) means that the white regions of the pattern image are not copied onto the destination. A transparency mode of ???1??? (opaque) means that the white pixels in the pattern are applied directly onto the destination.

Pattern ID (Area Fill ID) Command

The Pattern ID command (formerly called Area Fill ID) identifies the specific shading, cross-hatch, or user-defined pattern. (This command is also used for rectangular area fill. Refer to Chapter 14,

PCL Rectangular Area Fill Graphics.)

EC * c # G

Table 13-2

Selecting User-Defined patterns:1

# = ID number of user-defined pattern

1.Not supported on all LaserJet family printers. Refer to the ???PCL Feature Support Matrix??? in Chapter 1 of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for specifics.

#=ID number of user-defined pattern

For rectangular areas, the pattern material is determined by both the pattern ID and the value of the Fill Rectangular Area command. For other images, the pattern material is determined by the pattern ID and the value of the Select Pattern command.

Figure 13-4 and Figure 13-5 illustrate the HP-defined shading patterns and cross-hatched patterns, respectively.

Figure 13-4 Shading Patterns

Figure 13-5 Cross-Hatch Patterns

Select Current Pattern Command

The Select Current Pattern command identifies the type of pattern to be applied onto the destination.

EC * v # T

#=0 - Solid black (default) 1 - Solid white

2 - Shading pattern

3 - Cross-hatch pattern

4 - User-defined pattern

This command selects which type of pattern is applied. For values 2, 3, and 4, the shading level (Figure 13-4), cross-hatch pattern (Figure 13-5), or user-defined pattern number is identified by the Pattern ID command described earlier in this chapter.

User-Defined Pattern Graphics

In addition to the eight shading patterns and six cross-hatch patterns, users can design their own patterns (area fill). These user-defined patterns are downloaded to the printer and controlled using three new commands:

zUser-Defined Pattern EC*c#W [data]

zSet Pattern Reference Point EC*p#R

zPattern Control EC*p#Q <Unknown> <list> >

User-Defined Pattern Implementation

To create a user pattern, a user defines a binary raster data image as a base pattern. This base pattern is downloaded to the printer using the User-Defined Pattern command. Prior to downloading the pattern, a Pattern ID command is sent to assign the user pattern an ID number. This ID number is used to select the pattern for printing and for pattern management.

To apply the pattern to an image, the printer duplicates or tiles (like placing ceramic tiles) the pattern across and down the page. This pattern can be applied to any image, or used as rectangular area fill.

Figure 13-6 User-Defined Base Pattern Example

A user-defined pattern may be applied to any image in the same manner as the internal (cross-hatch or shade) patterns.

Figure 13-7 Pattern Layout Across the Printable Area

Pattern Reference Point

The pattern reference point is a position on the logical page at which the base pattern is positioned for tiling. The upper left corner of the base pattern is positioned at this point (see ). The default pattern reference point is position 0,0. However, it is possible to set the pattern reference point to the current cursor position. This allows the pattern to be positioned or adjusted for fill areas. The pattern reference point may be shifted more than once for as many fill areas as there are on a page (the area must be filled before the

tile point is moved for the next fill area).

Figure 13-8 shows two areas filled with the pattern reference point fixed at the default (0,0) position. The lower portion of the illustration shows two areas in which the pattern reference point was moved to the upper left corner of each area and the area filled separately.

Figure 13-8 Moving Pattern Reference Point for Pattern Filling

User-Defined Pattern Command

The User-Defined Pattern command provides the means for downloading the binary pattern data that defines the user pattern.

EC * c # W [pattern data]

#=Number of pattern data bytes

The value field (#) identifies the number of pattern data bytes that follow the User-Defined Pattern command. In addition to the binary pattern data, there are eight bytes of pattern descriptor (header) information included in this pattern data. The format for a 300 dpi resolution header is shown in Table 13-3, below.

Table 13-3 User-Defined Pattern Header (300 dpi resolution)

With the introduction of the LaserJet 4 printer, user-defined patterns can be printed either 300 or 600 dpi resolution. X Resolution and Y Resolution fields have been added to the header information included in the previous header. The format for the new header is shown in Table 13-4, below.

Table 13-4 Resolution-Specified User-Defined Pattern Header

Patterns are identified by some value (ID number). This is the current pattern ID number.

If the Pattern ID command is not used to assign an ID number to the user pattern, the existing (current) pattern ID value is used. If a pattern is already associated with the ID, that pattern is replaced with the new pattern.

Format (Byte 0)

This field, byte 0, must be set to ???0.???

Continuation (Byte 1)

This field, byte 1, must be set to ???0.??? (This byte is for future printer support and does not currently provide any continuation operation.)

Pixel Encoding (Byte 2)

This field, byte 2, should be set to ???1.??? (This byte is reserved for future printer operation.)

Reserved (Byte 3)

This field, byte 3, is not currently used and must be set to 0.

Height in Pixels (Bytes 4 and 5)

This field, bytes 4 and 5, identifies the number of rows (height) of the pattern.

Width in Pixels (Bytes 6 and 7)

This field, bytes 6 and 7, identifies the number of pixels (width) of the pattern.

Pattern Image

This field contains the raster data for the pattern.

Master X Resolution (UI)

The Master X Resolution field is the pixel resolution in the X scan direction at which the pattern was designed.

Master Y Resolution (UI)

The Master Y Resolution field is the pixel resolution in the Y scan direction at which the pattern was designed.

User-defined Pattern Example

This example shows how the user-defined pattern command is used to create a user-defined patterns. For this example, a pattern of triangles is used. The first step is to design the base pattern triangle (in this case, using 64 bytes of data). The base pattern binary data is shown below:

11111111111111111111111111111111

01111111111111111111111111111110

00111111111111111111111111111100

00011111111111111111111111111000

00001111111111111111111111110000

00000111111111111111111111100000

00000011111111111111111111000000

00000001111111111111111110000000

00000000111111111111111100000000

00000000011111111111111000000000

00000000001111111111110000000000

00000000000111111111100000000000

00000000000011111111000000000000

00000000000001111110000000000000

00000000000000111100000000000000

00000000000000011000000000000000

This translates into the following 64 bytes in hexadecimal values:

Table 13-5

When using the 300 dpi User-Defined Pattern header (see Table 13-3). Set the eight bytes of header information to the following values:

Byte 0 - Format = 0 (00 hex)

Byte 1 - Continuation = 0 (00 hex)

Byte 2 - Pixel Encoding = 1 (01 hex)

Byte 3 - Reserved = 0 (00 hex)

Byte 4/5 - Height in Pixels = 0 / 16 (00 / 10 hex)

Byte 6/7 - Width in Pixels = 0 / 32 (00 / 20 hex)

Byte eight begins the first bytes of binary data.

The PCL code below downloads the user-defined pattern and assigns it an ID number of 3.

1 Specify the pattern ID number:

EC*c3G

Assigns an ID number of 3 to the pattern data which follows.

2 Send the User-defined Pattern command:

EC*c72W

Specifies that 72 bytes are to follow (8 bytes for header plus 64 bytes of pattern data).

3 Send the pattern header and binary data:

The user-defined pattern downloaded in the previous example is printed within a rectangular area in Chapter 14 under ???Rectangular Area Fill Examples.???

In the previous example, the raster data code is presented in hexadecimal, however, the numbers in the escape sequences are decimal.

Set Pattern Reference Point Command

The Set Pattern Reference Point command causes the printer to tile patterns with respect to the current cursor position. This command also specifies whether the pattern rotates with the print direction or remains fixed.

This command applies to user-defined, shading, and cross-hatch patterns.

Pattern Control Command

The Pattern Control command provides a means for manipulating user-defined patterns.

EC * c # Q

#=0 - Delete all patterns (temporary & permanent) 1 - Delete all temporary patterns

2 - Delete pattern (last ID # specified)

3 - Reserved

4 - Make pattern temporary (last ID # specified)

5 - Make pattern permanent (last ID # specified)

For value fields 2, 4, and 5, the Pattern ID (EC*c#G) command is sent prior to the Pattern Control command to identify the specific pattern for the Pattern Control command action.

The Pattern Transparency Mode controls how a pattern fills a rectangular area. Pattern Transparency Mode determines what effect transparent or opaque) the white pixels of the pattern have on the rectangular area (refer to ???Pattern Transparency Mode Command??? in Chapter 13).

1. White (1), black (0) or current (5) pattern also can be specified using this command.

Horizontal Rectangle Size (Decipoints) Command

This Horizontal Rectangle Size command specifies the rectangle width in decipoints.

EC * c # H

#=Number of decipoints (1/720 inch)

The printer converts the specified width to printer dots by rounding up to an integral number of dots. For example, 5 decipoints, which corresponds to 2.08 dots in 300 dpi mode, is converted to 3 dots.

Horizontal Rectangle Size (PCL Units) Command

This Horizontal Rectangle Size command specifies the rectangle width in PCL Units.

EC * c # A

Vertical Rectangle Size (Decipoints) Command

This Vertical Rectangle Size command specifies the rectangle height in decipoints.

EC * c # V

#=Number of decipoints (1/720 inch)

The printer converts the specified width to printer dots by rounding up to an integral number of dots. For example, 5 decipoints, which corresponds to 2.08 dots in 300 dpi mode, is converted to 3 dots.

Vertical Rectangle Size (PCL Units) Command

This Vertical Rectangle Size command specifies the rectangle height in PCL Units.

EC * c # B</BLD

Pattern ID (Area Fill ID) Command

The Pattern ID command (formerly called Area Fill ID) identifies the specific shading, cross-hatch, or user-defined pattern (see Figure 14-2) to be used when filling a rectangular area.

EC * c # G

Table 14-1

Selecting User-Defined patterns:1

# = ID number of user-defined pattern

1.Not supported on all LaserJet family printers. Refer to the ???PCL Feature Support Matrix??? in Chapter 1 of the PCL 5 Comparison Guide for specifics.

The value field (#) identifies the level of shading, the cross-hatch pattern, or the user-defined pattern.

There are eight HP defined shading patterns defined within the PCL language. To specify one of the eight shading patterns, use any value within the value field range for the desired shade. For example, to select the 56-80% shade (shown in Figure 14-1) use a value of 56, or 80, or any value in between such as 73.

Figure 14-1 Shading Patterns

Figure 14-2 Cross-hatch Patterns

Fill Rectangular Area Command

This command fills (prints) a rectangular area of the specified width and height with the specified area fill.

EC * c # P

#=0 - Black fill (rule) 1 - Erase (white) fill 2 - Shaded fill

3 - Cross-hatch fill

4 - User-defined pattern fill

5 - Current pattern fill

The current pattern is not applied to a rectangular area unless specified by this command.

The fill or pattern used as the current pattern is selected using the Select Current Pattern (EC*v#T) command. For a detailed description of the Select Current Pattern command refer to Chapter 13, The PCL

Print Model.

Black fill (value field 0), also known as black rule, and the white fill (value field of 1) ???patterns??? do not have a choice of different patterns, and thus do not require a pattern specification using the Pattern ID command.

The upper left corner of the rectangular area is located at the cursor position when printing a rectangular area. After printing the rectangular area the cursor is returned to the upper left corner; the cursor position does not change positions as a result of printing a rectangular area.

Rectangular areas are independent of the text area and perforation skip mode; these boundaries are ignored (rectangles are not clipped at these boundaries). Addressable rectangular areas are limited to the logical page. Rectangular areas that extend outside the logical page are clipped at the logical page boundaries (refer to Figures 2-3 and 2-4 for logical page and printable area boundary specifications).

Transparency mode, described in Chapter 13, controls how the area fill pattern is applied to the page. Refer to the following section for a description of how transparency mode affects the rectangular fill area.

A white fill ???erases??? any data placed within the rectangular area prior to receipt of the white fill, regardless of the transparency mode settings. Data placed in a previously erased area is visible.

Pattern Transparency for Rectangular Area Fill

Pattern transparency, described in Chapter 13, under ???Pattern Transparency Mode Command,??? affects how a pattern is applied to the rectangular fill area. Rectangular areas are special case images for transparency mode. The pattern and pattern type are selected by the Pattern ID command (EC*c#G) and the Fill Rectangular Area (EC*c#P) command (described earlier in this chapter).

When applying a pattern (area fill) to the rectangular area, the usual transparency mode settings apply. The pattern transparency mode determines the effect white pixels of the pattern have on the destination for value fields 0 (black fill), 2 (shaded fill), 3 (cross-hatch fill), or 5 (current pattern fill) of the Fill Rectangular Area command.

The ???0??? bits of the area fill are either applied (opaque) or ignored (transparent) based on the transparency mode setting (see Figure 14-3). When a value field of 1 (white fill) is used, pattern transparency mode is always treated as if it were opaque.

The effect of transparency modes on rectangular areas is illustrated in Figure 14-3. In both examples, the source transparency mode is opaque regardless of the actual setting. In the first example, the pattern transparency mode is transparent; the white pixels in the pattern are not applied to the destination, so that the pattern is visible in only two quadrants of the destination. In the second example, the pattern transparency mode is opaque, and the pattern is visible in the entire rectangular area.

Figure 14-3 Effect of Transparency Modes on Rectangular Areas

Rectangular Area Fill Examples

This section shows example usage of area fill commands to print pre-defined patterns as well as user-defined patterns.

Pre-defined Pattern Examples

Solid Fill (Black/White)

To print a 900 by 1500 Unit black rule (3 inches by 5 inches at 300 units-per-inch), then white fill a small area inside the black rectangle, perform the following steps.

1 1. Position the cursor:

EC*p300x400Y

This moves the cursor to PCL Unit position (300, 400) within the PCL coordinate system.

2 2. Specify the width of the rule:

EC*c900A

This sets the rule width to 900 PCL Units (3 inches at 300 units-per-inch).

3 3. Specify the height of the rule:

EC*c1500B

This sets the rule height to 1500 PCL Units (5 inches at 300 units-per-inch).

4 4. Print the rule:

EC*c0P

This example prints a black filled rectangular area.

5 5. Position the cursor inside the rectangular area:

EC*p600x700Y

3 Specify the height of the rectangle:

EC*c1500B

This sets the rectangle to 1500 PCL Units (5 inches at 300 units-per-inch).

4 Specify the Pattern ID:

EC*c25G

This sets the Pattern ID to 25.

1 Print the rectangular shaded area:

EC*c2P

This example prints the following:

Figure 14-5 Shaded Fill Example

Cross-hatch Fill

To print a 900 by 1500 Unit rectangular area (3 inches by 5 inches at 300 units-per-inch), filled with a horizontal cross-hatch pattern, perform the following steps:

1. Position the cursor: EC*p300x400Y

Moves the cursor to PCL Unit position (300,400) within the PCL coordinate systems.

2. Specify the width of the rectangle: EC*c900A

Sets the rectangle width to 900 PCL Units (3 inches at 300 units-per-inch).

3. Specify the height of the rectangle: EC*c1500B

Sets the rectangle height to 1500 PCL Units (5 inches at 300 units-per-inch).

4. Specify the Pattern ID:

EC*c1G

Sets the Pattern ID to 1.

5. Print the rectangular pattern-filled area: EC*c3P

This example prints the following:

Figure 14-6 Patterned Fill Example

User-defined Pattern Example

This example shows how to print a user-defined pattern which has already been downloaded to the printer. For this example we will print the pattern of triangles which was downloaded in the example in Chapter 13, under ???User-Defined Pattern Command.???

The following commands define a 600 PCL Unit square rectangular area, select ID number 3, and print the user-defined pattern associated with that ID number.

1 Position the cursor:

EC*p300x400Y

Moves the cursor to PCL Unit position (300,400) within the PCL coordinate systems.

2 Specify the width and height of the rectangle:

EC*c600a600B

Sets the rectangle width and height both to 600 PCL Units (2 x 2 inches at 300 Units/inch).

3 Specify the Pattern ID:

EC*c3G

Sets the Pattern ID to 3.

4 Print the user-defined pattern-filled area:

EC*c5P

This example prints as shown in Figure 14-7.

Figure 14-7 User-Defined Pattern Fill Example

15 Raster Graphics

Introduction

A raster image is an image composed of dots. Pictures in newspapers or on television screens (also, a page printed by this printer) are examples of raster images. The PCL language includes commands for printing raster graphic images. These commands enable the LaserJet printer to receive binary data and print it as a raster image.

The binary data used to create a raster image is divided into dot rows: a row describes a one-dot-high strip of the image. Each dot position within a row is represented by a binary data bit. If a bit in a row is set to one, a dot is printed; if the bit is set to zero, no dot is printed for that position. A dot row of raster image data is transferred to the printer as a string of bytes containing a dot-per-bit representation of the row.

Figure 15-1 Binary Raster Data

Since it takes a considerable amount of data to create even a small raster image, several methods are provided to reduce the amount of data needed to define an image. (Note, that the above illustration creates a rectangle 0.013 by 0.027 inches; a binary ???1??? = 1 dot = 1/300 inch.) These reduction techniques include

several binary data compression methods, and additional reduction techniques associated with the raster area feature (see Figure 15-2).

Figure 15-2 Raster Area

Data compression methods include: run-length encoding, tagged image file format (TIFF), delta row, and adaptive compression. These techniques are described in detail later in this section, under the Set Compression Method command.

In addition to the compression methods, the raster area feature provides some other raster reduction techniques which utilize a defined raster area. The raster area is defined by a width and height which are set using the Raster Width and the Raster Height commands.

Zeroed rows at the top and within the raster image can be eliminated by using the Y-offset feature. Y-Offset identifies how many rows to skip (zero fill). The Y-offset command specifies the Y-offset or number of rows for the printer to fill with zeroed rows. This provides a reduction in data for increased efficiency.

Trailing zeroed full rows at the end of the raster image need not be sent. The printer automatically fills in any unsent zeroed rows from the end of the raster image (last raster row with any ???1???s) to the bottom of the raster area.

The final data reduction technique provided by the raster area involves the printer???s ability to fill in trailing zeros to the edge of the raster area. Any zeros following the last ???1??? in the raster row to the edge of the picture area need not be sent. The printer automatically fills them. This technique eliminates the need to transmit raster data rows that are all the same length, as required in a raster image which does not use the raster area feature.

The raster area represents a boundary. Within this boundary the printer zero-fills missing rows and fills in short rows to the edge of the raster area. However, in addition to filling to the boundaries of the raster area, the printer also clips any raster line which extends beyond the boundary. Thus, if an image extends beyond the raster area, then that portion of the image is not printed.

When the raster area reduction techniques are used in conjunction with the raster compression techniques, a considerable savings in data can be realized. This results in a saving of host storage and data transmission time. However, these reduction techniques do not reduce the amount of printer memory required for page formatting.

Raster Graphics Command Sequence

PCL raster commands include: Start Raster Graphics and End Raster Graphics commands, Transfer Raster Data by Row, Raster Compression, Raster Presentation, Raster Resolution, Raster Height and Raster Width (which define the raster area), and Raster Y Offset commands. The normal sequence of execution for these commands is shown below:

Table 15-1

Raster Presentation

Raster Resolution

Raster Height

Raster Width

Start Raster Graphics

Y Offset

Raster Compression

Transfer Raster Data

M

Transfer Raster Data

Y Offset

Transfer Raster Data

M

Y Offset

Raster Compression

Transfer Raster Data

M

Raster Compression

Transfer Raster Data

End Raster Graphics

The emphasis in the previous command sequence is that the Raster Presentation Mode, Raster Resolution, Raster Height, and Raster Width are all set outside the start..data..end sequence of commands. Also, the entire image is sent during the start..data..end sequence, choosing the most effective compression method for each raster row of data.

Raster Graphics Resolution Command

Raster graphics can be printed at various resolutions. This command designates the resolution of subsequent raster data transfers in dots-per inch.

EC * t # R

#= 75 - 75 dots-per-inch 100 - 100 dots-per-inch

150 - 150 dots-per-inch

200 - 200 dots-per-inch1

300 - 300 dots-per-inch

600 - 600 dots-per-inch

This command must be sent prior to the start graphics command. The factory default resolution is 75 dots-per-inch.

1.Only available if the printer is configured for resolution=600 dpi.

Figure 15-4 Raster Graphics Expansion - at 600 dpi

Raster Graphics Presentation Mode Command

The Raster Graphics Presentation command specifies the orientation of the raster image on the logical page.

EC * r # F

#=0 - Raster image prints in orientation of logical page 3 - Raster image prints along the width of the physical

page

A value of 0 indicates that a raster row ???will be printed in the positive X-direction of the PCL coordinate system. (The print direction translates the PCL coordinate system.)

A value of 3 indicates that the raster graphics will be printed along the width of the physical page, regardless of logical page orientation. In portrait orientation, a raster row is printed in the positive X-direction of the PCL coordinate system and a subsequent raster row is printed beginning at the next dot row position in the positive Y-direction.

In landscape orientation, a raster row is printed in the positive Y-direction of the PCL coordinate system and a subsequent raster row is printed beginning at the next dot row position in the negative X-direction. Figure 15-5 illustrates presentation mode 0 and 3.

Table 15-2

Figure 15-5 Raster Graphics Presentation Mode for Portrait Orientation

Figure 15-6 Raster Graphics Presentation Mode for Landscape Orientation

Raster Height Command

The Raster Height command specifies the height in raster rows of the raster area. Height is the direction perpendicular to the direction that raster rows are laid down, hence, height is subject to the current raster presentation mode and print direction (see Figure 15-7).

Upon receiving an End Raster Graphics (EC*rC) command, the cursor position is set to the left graphics margin of the next raster row after the raster height boundary.

Figure 15-7 Maximum Raster Height

Raster Width Command

The Raster Width command specifies the width in pixels of the raster area. Width is in the direction that the raster rows are laid down, hence, width is subject to the current raster presentation mode and print direction (see Figure 15-8).

Figure 15-8 Maximum Raster Width

Start Raster Graphics Command

The Start Raster Graphics command identifies the beginning of the raster data and also specifies the left graphics margin.

A value of 0 specifies that the left graphics margin is at the default left margin of the page (X-position 0). A value of 1 specifies that the left graphics margin is at the current X-position. In presentation mode 3, the location of the left graphics margin varies depending on the orientation.

Once a Start Raster Graphics command is received by the printer, raster graphics resolution, raster graphics presentation mode, raster height, raster width, and left raster graphics margin are fixed until an end raster graphics command is received.

Once in Raster Graphics Mode, PCL commands and text imply an End Raster Graphics (EC*rC) except for the following commands:

zTransfer Raster Data

zSet Raster Compression Method

zRaster Y Offset

In addition, the following commands are ignored (i.e., locked out) while in Raster Graphics Mode and do not imply an End Raster Graphics command:

If source and/or transparency modes have been set, frequent start/end graphics commands in an image can result in a memory overflow condition.

Raster Y Offset Command

The Raster Y Offset command moves the cursor position vertically the specified number of raster lines from the current raster position in the raster area.

EC * b # Y

#=Number of raster lines of vertical movement

This command is recognized only while in raster graphics mode and only within the raster area.

Tagged Image File Format Encoding (Method 2)

Tagged image file format encoding interprets raster data as TIFF ???Packbits.??? This format combines features of methods 0 and 1. A control byte precedes the raster data (pattern bytes). The control byte identifies whether the pattern byte(s) represent a byte that is to be repeated some number of times (up to 127), or represent some number of bytes (up to 127) which are to be printed as is (literal).

The sign of the number in the control byte identifies whether the byte or bytes that follow represent a literal pattern or byte to be repeated. A positive number (1 to 127) indicates that the bytes are literal. A negative number (-1 to -127), represented by the twos complement, indicates a repeated byte. The value of the number, if positive (literal), identifies the number of pattern bytes which follow the control byte; if negative (repeated), identifies the number of times to repeat the following byte. A pattern byte may be repeated up to 127 times; or up to 127 literal bytes may follow the control byte.

As mentioned, for a byte to be repeated, the control byte must be a negative value as represented by the twos complement. For example, to repeat a pattern three times would require the twos complement of the number 3. The twos complement is computed as follows. The binary of 3 is 00000011. Complement each bit to get 11111100, then add one to this value to produce 11111101, the twos complement. The decimal value of this number, 253, used in the control byte, produces a repetition of 3 bytes for a total of 4 occurrences of the pattern.

The range of numbers for the control byte is shown below.

Table 15-3 Literal Pattern Values

Table 15-5 Repeated Pattern Values

1.These negative values are represented by taking the twos complement of the value of the number.

TIFF encoding also allows you to include a non-operative (NOP) control byte, represented by the value ???128. This byte is ignored, and the subsequent byte is treated as the new control byte.

Examples: Run-length and TIFF Compression

The following examples show how a raster row can be coded using run-length and TIFF compression methods. Note that the compression examples use characters to represent the binary data stream.

Table 15-6

Unencoded

EC*r1A

EC*b0m7WUUUUATT

EC*rC

Run-length Encoding

EC*r1A

EC*b1m6W(3)U(0)A(1)T

EC*rC

TIFF Encoding

EC*r1A

EC*b2m6W(-3)U(0)A(-1)T or EC*b2m6W(-3)U(2)ATT

EC*rC

In the TIFF encoding example above, parenthetical expressions

are used to identify control bytes. For example, the byte (-3) is shown to represent the control byte for a repetition (minus value) of 3. The actual value for this position is the decimal value 253. Additional ???encoded??? control bytes in this sequence include: (0) for decimal 0, (-1) for decimal 255, and (2) for decimal 2. The raster data (pattern) bytes are represented as by the ASCII character.

Delta Row Compression (Method 3)

Delta row compression identifies a section of bytes in a row that is different from the preceding row, and then transmits only that data that is different (the delta data). If a row is completely different from its preceding row, then the entire row must be sent as the delta (not very efficient); if only one bit is different, then only one byte is identified and sent. To reassemble the raster data rows, the printer takes the current row (referred to as the seed row) and makes the changes indicated by the delta data, to create the new row. The new row (which becomes the new seed row) is used by the next delta compression data to create another row.

A delta compression row consists of two parts, a command byte and the replacement bytes, as shown below:

[(Command byte)(1 to 8 Replacement bytes)]

The command byte identifies two things: 1) the number of replacement (delta) bytes that follow; and, 2) where to position the replacement byte string (the left offset). The replacement bytes are some number (up to eight bytes) of consecutive bytes that are used to create the new row from the seed row.

If more than eight replacement (delta) bytes are needed, additional command byte/replacement bytes may be added, as shown below:

EC*3m#W [(Command Byte)(1 to 8 Replacement Bytes)][(Command Byte)(1 to 8 Replacement Bytes)]. . .

In the command byte, the upper three bits identify the number of replacement (delta) bytes (which can be 1 to 8 bytes). The lower five bits identify the location the replacement bytes are to be positioned. This position is identified as some number of bytes in, from the first untreated byte, referred to as the offset. For example, if there are 5 replacement bytes and the offset is 7, then the replacement bytes replace byte 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 (the five bytes beginning at byte 7 from the seed row).

If there is more than one replacement in a row, the second offset is counted from the next untreated byte in the row: the first byte following the last replacement byte.

Figure 15-9

As mentioned, the offset is contained in the lower five bits of the command byte allows for offset values from 0 to 31. Compression mode allows offsets larger than 31 bytes as follows:

zAn offset value of 0-30 indicates that the replacement bytes are offset from the 1st byte to the 31st byte.

zA value of 31 indicates that the next byte following the command byte is an additional offset byte which adds to the first (32) offset value. This allows offset values larger than 31. Also, if this second offset byte is set to 255 (all ones), additional offset bytes follow until the required offset value is obtained. When the formatter detects an offset byte less than 255, it is assumed to be the last offset value and the offset bytes are then totaled (added). The following example shows an offset larger than 31:

Figure 15-10

The total offset 414, which is the sum of the three offset values: 31 + 255 + 128.

Seed Row

The seed row is basically the current raster data row; the row being printed. It is maintained by the printer for use by delta row compression. The delta compression replacement bytes are applied to the seed row to create the new row. This new data row is printed and becomes the new seed row.

The seed row is updated by every raster graphic transfer, regardless of the compression method. This allows delta compression method to be mixed with other methods to achieve better compression performance.

Repeating a Row

EC*b0W

When using the delta compression method, it is possible to repeat or copy the previous raster row using the Raster Data Transfer command. This is accomplished by setting the Raster Data Transfer command, value field, to zero.

Printing A Zeroed Row (Setting the Seed Row to Zero)

EC*b1Y

Example: Delta Row Compression

The following example demonstrates how to compress the following data using the delta row compression. (The bytes highlighted in italic type indicate those bytes needing replacement ??? those bytes that are different from the previous row, the seed row.)

Table 15-8

EC*r1A ??? The start raster graphics command initializes the seed row to all zeros.

Row 1 ??? EC*b3m2W(00000001)(11111111)

The 3m selects the delta row compression method and the 2W indicates that 2 bytes of data to follow. The first three bits of the first data byte, the command byte, signify a single byte replacement (all three bits are 0). The next five bits indicate an offset of 1 byte from the current position. The replacement byte follows and contains

11111111.

Row 2 ??? EC*b2W(00000010)(11110000)

The first three bits of the command byte indicate that one byte will be replaced, and the next five bits indicate a relative offset of 2, so the replacement will occur 2 bytes from the current position. The replacement byte follows and contains 11110000.

Row 3 ??? EC*b5W(00000000)(00001111)(00100010) (10101010)(10101010)

As in the other rows, the first three bits of the command byte are zero, indicating a single byte replacement. The five offset bytes indicate a relative offset of zero bytes. The replacement byte follows and is 00001111. The third byte is another command byte and the first three bits signify the replacement of two bytes (the top three bits are 001). The offset bits indicate an offset of two bytes from the current position. The fourth and fifth bytes are the two replacement bytes.

Adaptive Compression (Method 5)

Adaptive compression enables the combined use of any of the four previous compression methods (0 through 3), and it includes the ability to print empty (all zeros) rows or to duplicate rows.

Adaptive compression interprets a raster image as a block of raster data rather than as individual rows. The result of this interpretation is that the Transfer Raster Data (EC*b#W) command is sent only once at the beginning of a raster data transfer, and the value field (#) identifies the number of bytes in the block (all rows). For the other compression methods, the Transfer Raster Data command is sent at the beginning of each row and the value field (#) identifies the number of bytes for that row only.

The size of a block is limited to 32,767 bytes. (32,767 bytes is the number of compressed bytes and not the size of the uncompressed data). To transfer greater than 32,767 bytes, send multiple blocks.

Adaptive compression uses three control bytes at the beginning of each row within the block. The first of these bytes, the command byte, identifies the type of compression for the row. The two following bytes identify the number of bytes or rows involved. The format for adaptive compression raster rows is shown below:

<command byte><# of bytes/rows - upper byte><# of bytes/rows - lower byte> ...

...<first raster row byte>...<last raster row byte>

The command byte designates the compression method, empty row, or row duplication. Command byte values are shown below.

Table 15-9

For command byte values 0 - 3, the two <# of bytes/rows> bytes specify the number of bytes (row length) for the row. For command byte values 4 and 5, these bytes identify the number of empty or duplicate rows to print. The maximum value for these two bytes is 65,535; however, the image is clipped to the logical page. Thus, the value of these bytes should not exceed the maximum number of bytes/rows that can be printed on the current logical page size.

If an out of range command byte is encountered, the remainder of the block is skipped, the cursor is not updated, and the seed row is cleared.

Compression methods 0 - 3 are the compression methods used by the Set Compression Method command. Value fields 4 and 5 are features for the adaptive compression method and are explained below.

Empty Row

A command byte of 4, empty row, causes a row of zero???s to be printed. The number of rows printed depends on the value contained in the two <# of bytes/rows> bytes following the command byte. The empty row operation resets the seed row to zero and updates the cursor position.

Duplicate Row

A command byte of 5, duplicate row, causes the previous row to be printed again. The row can be duplicated the number of times indicated by the value contained in the <# of bytes/row> byte.

Duplicate Row updates the cursor position but does not change the seed row.

zFor method 3 - Since delta row compression requires that the seed row be available whenever raster graphics mode is entered,

the seed row is initialized to zeros upon raster graphics mode

entry (EC*r#A). The seed row is also initialized upon receipt and completion of each raster block.

zFor method 3 - If the row length terminates the data before the control byte value is satisfied (literal byte count greater than row length), the data following the control byte (if any) is printed as text. The cursor is incremented.

zFor method 3 - if the row length is equal to one, the current row is duplicated, and the cursor is incremented.

End Raster Graphics Command

The End Raster Graphics command signifies the end of a raster graphic data transfer.

EC * r C

zReceipt of this command causes 5 operations:

zResets the raster compression seed row to zeros.

zMoves the cursor to the raster row immediately following the end of the raster area (if a source raster height was specified).

zAllows raster commands which were previously locked out to be processed.

zSets compression mode to 0 (no compression)

zDefaults the left graphics margin to X-position 0.

Table 15-11 Example of Raster Graphic Image Data (continued)

The brackets and commas are not part of the raster data command; they are used only to delineate the data.

Figure 15-11Example of Raster Graphic Image Data

16 Status Readback

Introduction

This chapter describes the PCL status readback features. PCL status is requested from the printer with the commands described in this chapter. Following a status request, the printer generates a status response. This response consists of ASCII data which is sent directly from the printer, through the I/O, back to the host. Status readback allows you to obtain information from the printer such as: available printer (user) memory, current available fonts and symbol sets, and the ID numbers

of downloaded macros and user-defined patterns to verify their presence.

The contents of this chapter are listed below:

zIntroduction

???Memory Status Request

???Entity Status Request

zStatus Response Syntax

zSet Status Readback Location Type Command

zSet Status Readback Location Unit Command

zInquire Status Readback Entity Command

zEntity Status Responses

???Font

???Font Extended

???Macro

???User-Defined Pattern

???Symbol Set

zEntity Error Codes

zFree Space Command

???Memory Status Response

???Memory Error Response

zFlush All Pages Command

zEcho Command

zStatus Readback Programming Hints

For status readback to work, the host system must contain a bi-directional driver to receive status response data. In network operations, some printing environments do not support bi-directional communication, such as many printer sharing devices which spool data, and some network operating systems. Applications designed to incorporate PCL status readback should be designed to function correctly in situations where no response is possible.

Memory Status Request

It is possible to identify the amount of available user memory using the memory status request. Being able to identify the available memory enables a user to determine whether sufficient memory is available for the entity being downloaded, potentially avoiding a printer memory overflow condition (control panel error 20, memory overflow).

An example memory request with its associated response is shown below.

Table 16-1 Memory Status Request Example

Table 16-1 Memory Status Request Example (continued)

Entity Status

It is possible to request status for the printer???s entities. An entity is a font, symbol set, macro, or user-defined pattern stored in the printer. Each individual entity request is limited to one specific entity, and is further limited to a specific location. To request entity status, you must send the entity status readback commands to identify a location type and a location unit, and then send the entity request command.

Location type refers to the memory locations which store entities. These memory locations include internal ROM, RAM (for downloaded entities), cartridges, user-installable ROMs (SIMMs), and one additional location identified as ???currently selected.??? Currently selected identifies the entity which is active, such as the font or user-defined pattern last selected. (Currently selected does not apply to macros or symbol sets).

Location unit refers to a specific location (or device) within the location type. For example, location unit ???1??? for location type ???cartridge,??? identifies the left cartridge on a printer with two cartridges; or, unit ???1??? for location type ???downloaded,??? identifies the temporary fonts (as opposed to permanent).

The location type and unit are described in detail under the location type and unit status readback command descriptions provided later in this chapter.

Once the location type and unit are specified, the status can be requested using the Inquire Status Readback Entity command. This command identifies the entity (font, symbol set, macro, or user-defined pattern) and causes the printer to send the response.

A basic entity status request is shown in the example below. This example identifies a status request for downloaded permanent fonts. The example also includes a status readback response at the bottom. Note that this example shows only one possible request/response; for more detailed information, refer to the status readback command descriptions provided later in this chapter.

Table 16-2 Entity Status Request Example

Table 16-3

In addition to the normal status responses, if an invalid request is made, the printer returns an error response. Error responses are described under the Inquire Status Readback Entity command, later in this chapter.

Status Response Syntax

All status responses start with the letters ???PCL??? followed by a Carriage Return control code (decimal 13; <CR>) and a Line Feed control code (decimal 10; <LF>). In addition, each remaining line of the response is terminated by a Carriage Return and Line Feed control code. Finally, status responses are terminated by a Form Feed control code (decimal 12; <FF>). The basic syntax for the status response is shown below.

PCL<CR><LF>

INFO TITLE<CR><LF>

KEYWORDn=DATAn<CR><LF>

KEYWORDn=DATAn<CR><LF>

M

<FF>

TITLE, KEYWORDn, and DATAn are strings that vary depending on the particular status readback command being executed. Each status readback response has one or more keyword lines associated with it. A slight variation of this is the Echo command response. This response is shown below.

PCL<CR><LF>

INFO MEMORY<CR><LF> TOTAL=100000<CR><LF> LARGEST=25000<CR><LF> <FF>

Set Status Readback Location Type Command

The Set Location Type command sets the status location type to the specified value. Location type is used in conjunction with the location unit to identify an entity location for a status request (Inquire Status Readback Entity command).

EC * s # T

#=0- Invalid location

1 - Currently selected

2 - All Locations

3 - Internal

4 - Downloaded Entity

5 - Cartridge

7 - User-installable ROM device (SIMMs)

If a value outside the range is received, the location type is set to 0.

When the location type is 0 and an Inquire Entity command is received, an error response is generated (refer to the ???Status Response Error Codes??? section later in this section for additional information).

A printer reset returns the location type setting to 0.

The printer retains the location type setting. If the Set Status Readback Location Type command is not sent to change the setting for an entity request, then the existing location type setting is used.

Inquire Status Readback Entity Command

The Inquire Entity command identifies the entity type and causes the printer to create a status response for the entity specified in the status readback location (type and unit).

EC * s # I

#=0- Font 1 - Macro

2 - User-defined pattern

3 - Symbol Set (for unbound scalable fonts)

4 - Font Extended

The entity status responses for the value field parameters vary depending on the setting of the location type and location unit (refer to the Set Location Type and Set Location Unit commands described on the preceding pages).

The entity status and error responses are described on the following pages.