HP Pcl 5 Manual

							ENIntroduction  14-1
14
PCL Rectangular 
Area Fill Graphics 
Introduction 
The PCL language includes commands for filling or shading 
rectangular areas on the page with pre-defined patterns, and 
allows creation and use of user-defined patterns. Pre-defined 
patterns include eight shading patterns and six cross-hatch 
patterns.
NoteUser-defined patterns are not supported on all LaserJet family 
printers. Refer to the “PCL Feature Support Matrix” in the PCL 5 
Comparison Guide.
The first step in filling an area, if using a user-defined pattern, 
is to download the pattern (see Chapter 13). Next, position the 
cursor (using cursor move commands) and specify the dimension 
of the area (using the horizontal and vertical rectangle size 
commands). The cursor identifies the upper left corner of the 
rectangular fill area. Once the rectangle size and position are 
identified, select the specific pattern (shading level (Figure 
14-1), cross-hatch pattern (Figure 14-2), or user-defined 
pattern), to be used for filling the rectangular area. Finally the 
command is issued to fill the defined rectangular area. Once a 
user-defined pattern has been downloaded, the fill procedure 
can be repeated as often as required.
 Rectangular Area Fill Procedure 
1For user-defined patterns: if you have not done so already, 
download the binary pattern data (User-Defined Pattern 
Command - 
E
C*c#W - Chapter 13).
2Position the cursor (choice of various cursor commands - 
Chapter 6). 
						

							14-2   PCL Rectangular Area Fill GraphicsEN
3Specify width of rectangle (Horizontal Rectangle Size Command - 
Decipoints=E
C*c#H, or PCL Units=E
C*c#A).
4Specify height of rectangle (Vertical Rectangle Size Command - 
Decipoints=
E
C*c#V, or PCL Units=E
C*c#B).
5Select specific shade, cross-hatch, or user-defined pattern 
(Pattern ID Command - 
E
C*c#G - Chapter 13)1.
6Fill rectangular area with pattern (Fill Rectangular Area 
Command - 
E
Cc#P).1 This ends the procedure and prints the 
patterned area.
NoteAn area’s width extends in the positive X-direction of the PCL 
coordinate system, and the height extends in the positive Y-direction.    
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. 
						

							ENHorizontal Rectangle Size (Decipoints) Command 14-3
Horizontal Rectangle Size (Decipoints) Command 
This Horizontal Rectangle Size command specifies the rectangle 
width in decipoints.
E
C * c # H 
#  =Number of decipoints (1/720 inch)
Default =0
Range =0 - 32767 (valid to 4 decimal places)
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.
E
C * c # A
#  =Number of PCL Units 
Default =0
Range =0 - 32767
For example, if the unit of measure is set to 300 units-per-inch, to 
specify a two-inch wide rectangle, send the command: 
E
C*c600A
The same command specifies a one-inch wide rectangle if the unit of 
measure is set to 600 units-per-inch. 
NoteThe number of units-per-inch used in PCL dot moves is determined 
by the current setting of the Unit of Measure command (see “Unit of 
Measure Command” in Chapter 4). 
						

							14-4   PCL Rectangular Area Fill GraphicsEN
Vertical Rectangle Size (Decipoints) Command 
This Vertical Rectangle Size command specifies the rectangle height 
in decipoints.
E
C * c # V
#  =Number of decipoints (1/720 inch) 
Default =0
Range =0 - 32767 valid to 4 decimal places
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.
E
C * c # B
						

							ENPattern ID (Area Fill ID) Command 14-5
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.
E
C * c # G
Default =0 (no pattern)
Range =0 - 32767 (values outside the range are ignored)
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. Table 14-1
Selecting Shaded PatternsSelecting Cross-Hatch 
patterns:
# =    1 thru  2 =  1- 2% shade   # =   1 - Pattern #1
  3 thru 10 =  3-10% shade   2 - Pattern #2
 11 thru 20 = 11-20% shade   3 - Pattern #3
 21 thru 35 = 21-35% shade   4 - Pattern #4
 36 thru 55 = 36-55% shade   5 - Pattern #5
 56 thru 80 = 56-80% shade   6 - Pattern #6
 81 thru 99 = 81-99% shade
        100 = 100% shade
 Selecting User-Defined patterns:
1
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 
						

							14-6   PCL Rectangular Area Fill GraphicsEN
There are six HP defined cross-hatch patterns. To specify a cross- 
hatch pattern type, use a value between 1 and 6 to select a pattern 
as shown in Figure 14-2.
For user-defined patterns, this command, sent prior to downloading 
a user-defined pattern, assigns an ID pattern number to the 
downloaded pattern. (For more information, see “User-defined 
Pattern Graphics,” in Chapter 13.)
NoteThis command works in conjunction with the Fill Rectangular Area 
Command (described next in this section) and the Select Current 
Pattern Command (described in Chapter 13). 
						

							ENPattern ID (Area Fill ID) Command 14-7 Figure 14-1 Shading Patterns 
						

							14-8   PCL Rectangular Area Fill GraphicsEN
Figure 14-2 Cross-hatch Patterns 
						

							ENFill Rectangular Area Command 14-9
Fill Rectangular Area Command 
This command fills (prints) a rectangular area of the specified width 
and height with the specified area fill.
E
C * 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 
Default =0
Range =0 - 5 (values outside the range are ignored)
Black fill — fills the rectangular area with black fill. 
White fill — erases any fill in the rectangular area (it fills the 
rectangular area with white fill). 
Shaded fill — fills the rectangular area with one of the eight shading 
patterns as specified by the Pattern ID command. 
Cross-Hatch fill — fills the rectangular area with one of the six 
cross-hatched patterns as specified by the Pattern ID command. 
User-defined fill — fills the rectangular area with custom pattern 
data as specified by the Pattern ID command and downloaded by the 
User-Defined Pattern command. 
Current Pattern — fills the rectangular area with the current pattern. 
NotesThe order in which data (patterns/rules, text, raster) is received is the 
order in which it is processed during the rasterization of the page.
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 (
E
C*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.  
						

							14-10   PCL Rectangular Area Fill GraphicsEN
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.