HP Pcl 5 Manual

							ENSpacing Command 8-9
Spacing Command 
Inter-character spacing can be specified as either proportional or 
fixed.
E
C ( s # P -  Primary spacing
E
C ) s # P -  Secondary spacing 
#  =  0 - Fixed spacing
    1 - Proportional spacing 
Default =0
Range =0, 1 (values outside the range are ignored)
When propor tional 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 propor tional spacing for the primary font, send:
E
C(s1P
To specify fixed spacing for the secondary font, send:
E
C)s0P 
						

							8-10   PCL Font SelectionEN
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.
E
C ( s # H -  Primary pitch
E
C ) 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. 
						

							ENPitch Command 8-11 The following formula can be used to as a rule of thumb for computing 
a maximum recommended pitch:
The character (“contour”) width in the above formula is expressed 
as a percentage of an Em. For example, the width of characters in 
Courier is very close to 60% of an Em, and  . 
(The width of characters in Letter Gothic is approximately 50% of an 
Em. For other fonts, refer to the font metric data supplied by the font 
vendor.)
NoteIf a scalable fixed-space font is selected using an ID number, send the 
Pitch command to specify the size; otherwise, the size is determined 
by the pitch characteristic value of the former font (as listed in the font 
select table) See “Font Selection by ID Command” later in this 
chapter for more information.
Example
To specify 10 pitch for the primary font, send:
E
C(s10H
To specify 16.66 pitch for the secondary font, send:
E
C)s16.66H
30 1 0.64 72÷ () ÷ = 
						

							8-12   PCL Font SelectionEN
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.
E
C ( s # V -  Primary Height
E
C ) 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 quar ter 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). 
						

							ENHeight Command 8-13
NoteIf a proportional-spaced scalable font is selected using an ID number, 
send the Height command to specify the point size otherwise, the size 
is determined by the height characteristic value of the former 
font (as listed in the font select table) See “Font Selection by 
ID Command” later in this chapter for more information.
Example
To specify a height of 12 points for the primary font, send:
E
C(s12V
To specify a height of 14.4 points for the secondary font, send:
E
C)s14.4V
If the above sequence was used for selection of a scalable font, the 
actual font would be scaled to 14.5 points. 
						

							8-14   PCL Font SelectionEN
Style Command 
The Style command identifies the posture of a character, its width, 
and structure of the font symbols.
E
C ( s # S -  Primary Style
E
C ) 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
Value  Font Styles
0 (upright, solid)
1 italic
4 condensed
5 condensed italic
8  compressed, or extra condensed
24  expanded
32  outline
64  inline
128  shadowed
160   outline shadowed  
						

							ENStyle Command 8-15
NotesWith the introduction of the HP LaserJet IID printer, Hewlett-Packard 
expanded the style values (in the Font Header style value field) from a 
one-byte to a two-byte value field, expanding the style range from 
0-255 to 0-32767. This expansion allows for additional styles.
Style values can be obtained by calculating the “Style Word” as 
described under “Style MSB” in Chapter 11.
For selecting style, an exact match is required. If there is no match, 
this characteristic is ignored, but stored in the font select table, 
available for the next selection. 
Example
To specify an upright style for the primary font, send:
E
C(s0S
To specify an italic style for the secondary font, send:
E
C)s1S
Figure 8-1 Common Font Styles 
						

							8-16   PCL Font SelectionEN
Stroke Weight Command 
The Stroke Weight command designates the thickness of the strokes 
that compose the characters of a font.
E
C ( s # B -  Primary stroke weight
E
C ) 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
Value (#)  Typeface
  -7 Ultra Thin
  -6 Extra Thin
  -5 Thin
  -4 Extra Light
  -3 Light
  -2 Demi Light
  -1 Semi Light
  0  Medium, Book, or Text
 1  Semi Bold
 2  Demi Bold
 3 Bold
 4  Extra Bold
 5  Black
 6  Extra Black
 7  Ultra Black 
						

							ENStroke Weight Command 8-17 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).
Example
To specify a bold stroke weight for the primary font, send:
E
C(s3B
To specify a medium stroke weight for the secondary font, send:
E
C)s0B
NoteMany typefaces were designed for advertising use, and a “medium” 
was used to describe the standard treatment. Later, additional 
treatments were designed for text use. Therefore, the typeface 
treatment designation “medium” may not always take a PCL value 
of 0. This weight value may be assigned to “book” or “text” treatment 
instead. 
						

							8-18   PCL Font SelectionEN
Typeface Family Command 
The Typeface Family command designates the design of the font.
E
C ( s # T - Primary typeface family
E
C ) s # T - Secondary typeface family
#  =   Typeface family value   (see Appendix C in the PCL 5 
Comparison Guide for typeface values).
Default =14099, Body Text
Range =
10 - 65535 (values greater than 65535 are set to 65535)
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.
NoteUse the typeface family values, listed in Appendix C in the PCL 5 
Comparison Guide, for future typeface selection. 
1. These values are not applicable to all HP LaserJet family printers. See the 
PCL 5 Comparison Guide for specifics.