HP Pcl 5 Manual

							ENHorizontal Motion Index (HMI) Command 5-21
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). 
						

							5-22   Page Control CommandsEN
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 Ø 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:
NoteA change in the control panel FORM setting results in a modification 
of VMI. If the Page Length command (?&l#P) follows a VMI change, 
the physical size of the page is recalculated. Therefore, depending on 
the VMI modification made, the printer may request a different paper 
size. 
						

							ENVertical Motion Index (VMI) Command 5-23
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: 
?&l7.27C7.27 = (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:
?&l5.45C5.45 = (7.5/66) x 48 
						

							5-24   Page Control CommandsEN
Line Spacing Command 
The Line Spacing command sets the number of lines printed per inch. 
Only the values listed below are valid.
? & l # D
#  =  1 -  1 lpi
  2 -  2 lpi
  3 -  3 lpi
  4 -  4 lpi
  6 -  6 lpi
  8 -  8 lpi
12 - 12 lpi
16 - 16 lpi
24 - 24 lpi
48 - 48 lpi
Default =6
Range =0,1,2,3,4,6,8,12,16,24,48 (Other values are ignored)
This command performs the same function as the Vertical Motion 
Index (VMI) command except that it identifies the VMI in 
lines-per-inch (lpi).
The factory default lines-per-inch setting is 6. A user default line 
spacing can be selected from the control panel using the FORM 
menu item.
Example 
To select 12 lpi, send:
?&l12D
NoteOnce a PCL command sets a parameter, that parameter remains in 
effect until another command changes it. The most recently received 
command has precedence. 
						

							ENIntroduction  6-1
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. 
						

							6-2   Cursor PositioningEN
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 
						

							ENCursor Positioning Units 6-3
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. 
						

							6-4   Cursor PositioningEN
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.     
						

							ENHorizontal Cursor Positioning (Columns) Command 6-5
Horizontal Cursor Positioning (Columns) 
Command 
This Horizontal Cursor Positioning command moves the cursor to a 
new column on the current line.
? & a # C
#  =   Number of Columns
Default =NA
Range =0 - logical page right bound (valid to 4 decimal places)
The width of a column is defined by the current HMI. 
NoteThe current unit of measure setting affects how HMI values are 
rounded. 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.
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. 
						

							6-6   Cursor PositioningEN
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.