HP Pcl 5 Manual

ENContents-9
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...

Contents-10  EN
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

ENContents-11
The Polygon Group
Using the Polygon Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-2
Drawing Rectangles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-3
Drawing Wedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21-6
Drawing Polygons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Contents-12  EN
The Character Group
Printing Labels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-3
Moving to the Carriage Return Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-5
Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-6
Default Label Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-7...

ENContents-13 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. . ....

Contents-14  EN 

ENPCL PRINTER LANGUAGE HISTORY  1-1
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...

1-2   Introduction to HP PCLEN
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...

ENWhat are Printer Commands? 1-3
What are Printer Commands? 
PCL printer commands provide access to printer features. There are 
four general types of HP printer language commands:
zcontrol codes 
zPCL commands 
zHP-GL/2 commands 
zPJL commands
Control Codes
A control code is a character that initiates a printer function, for 
example Carriage Return (CR), Line Feed (LF), Form Feed (FF), etc.
PCL Commands 
PCL commands provide access to the printer’s PCL control structure. 
The PCL structure controls all...

1-4   Introduction to HP PCLEN
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,...