OT - PCL5e printer language

[Jim Asman]

--------------- Original Message ---------------
At 05:12P Tue Oct 21 2008, Barry Wiseman wrote:

> 
> 
> Jim Asman wrote:
> > --------------- Original Message ---------------
> > At 03:34P Tue Oct 21 2008, Barry Wiseman wrote:
> > 
> >> Don Coleman wrote:
> >>> I just completed a live chat session with H-P sales.  My chat partner 
just
> >>> told me they no longer offer any LaserJets that can print from MS-DOS.  
I
> >>> have a client with a legacy DOS application (HUD) that requires this.  I
> >>> noted the H-P P2015 offers PCL5e.  Was she wrong and can anyone tell me 
if
> >>> MS-DOS can print to this printer?
> >> PCL5e is a sort of "PCL5 lite" and does not support most of the normal 
> >> PCL5 fonts.  This was just discussed on this list the other day.  Ken 
> >> White posted the following information:
> >>
> > 
> > NO! NO!
> > 
> > PCL5e is enhanced PCL5 as was reflected in the change from the
> > LJ3 to LJ4. It is NOT a "light" version. All the upper end monochrome
> > laserjets are PCL5e.
> > 
> 
> So the elimination of font support is actually unrelated to the flavor 
> of PCL5 that the printer comes with?  I remembered first seeing these 
> font-challenged printers (the first I encountered was a color laserjet) 
> concurrent with the rollout of PCL5e.

Yes, I guess. We are only talking about HP LaserJets here. Always remember
that HP and "HP compatible" aren't necessarily the same thing

I believe that some Lexmark printers have additional fonts to the
familiar set of 45 that started with the LJ4. I believe that there are
HP printers in the 8xxx or 9xxx models that come standard with 110 fonts
rather than 45. They are all PCL5e. The 2015 only has four or something.

The color LaserJet speaks PCL5c. But I think the PCL5 color printers
also can handle a PCL5e BW file, but a BW PCL5e printer will probably
have problems on a PCL5c color file that is printing color images.

In essence PCL5c is probably PCL5e with color enhancements.

The differences between PCL5 and PCL5e have to do with capabilities.
For example, PCL5 macros CANNOT contain HP-GL/2 code, while PCL5e macros
can. There was no TrueType scaler in the interpreter before PCL5e just
Intellifont from Agfa-Compugraphic.

Etc., etc.


Jim 
--
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Jim Asman                              10221 144a Street            
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