Printer problem solution (kind of)
Brian White
bw.aljex at gmail.com
Mon Jul 23 18:33:46 PDT 2018
THIS (what Bob said).
Forget PCL5 for a second. Some printers support both PCL6, and also support
emailing a PDF to the printer. That doesn't mean the PCL6 spec includes
PDF. It's two completely different things that the printer just happens to
include support for both. PCL5 is the same way, and PS (PostScript).
Some printers include multiple engines (language interpreter software) in
the printer firmware, and sometimes the manufacturer provides multiple
versions of a driver for the printer, which generate different types of
data that the printer can take. So if a printer has pcl5, pcl6, and ps
engines, they may provide matching 3 different drivers, one that generates
pcl5, one that generates pcl6, and one that generates ps (postscript).
The "pcl6" in a printer driver name, means that the driver software
*generates* pcl6 to send to the printer. When Windows takes bitmap data
from a modern app like Office365, that particular version of the driver
will generate pcl6 data to squirt at the printer. If you installed some
other driver, it will take the same graphics data from the app, but
generate pcl5 instead, or postscript, or any number of other things, and
send that to the printer.
PCL6 was just a stupid name for the data format, because it IS true that
PCL3 is a subset of PCL5, and any PCL5 interpreter also supports PCL3. So
this confusion is absolutely understandable and reasonable.
The specs for this printer on the HP site DO include PCL5, but... like I
said before.. these days you can't really be sure that means the support
resides in the printer itself vs in a windows driver. So you have to test
it by simply creating a small pcl file manually (like with notepad++ or a
hex editor or any editor that will let you write exact bytes of your
choosing. Notepad isn't good enough and Word is out of the question) and
send that to the printer in a low level way that eliminates a lot of other
mystery components that might screw with the data or fail to send it
anywhere at all, like using the COPY command.
--
bkw
On Mon, Jul 23, 2018 at 6:21 PM Bob Rasmussen via Filepro-list <
filepro-list at lists.celestial.com> wrote:
> A printer can support both PCL-5 and PCL-6 (and PostScript, and PDF, and
> Epson ESC/P2, etc.) all at once. That doesn't mean PCL-6 mode has to be
> backward compatible to PCL-5.
>
> And there might not be a PCL-5 printer driver available, but the printer
> might still support PCL-5.
>
> The driver is the SENDER, the printer is the RECEIVER. Except when the
> data is coming from filePro, FILEPRO is the sender, the driver is (almost)
> irrelevant.
>
> On Mon, 23 Jul 2018, Henry Melancon via Filepro-list wrote:
>
> > I am curious as why an HP8000, HP5500 and a couple of Ricoh
> copier/printer/scanners in my office have "PCL6" in their Windows printer
> descriptions, but can print for FilePro? They have to be backward
> compliable....
> >
> > This certainly adds to the confusion????
> >
> > Henry W. Melancon
> > Documentation Supervisor
> > Quality Control
> > Gulf Island Fabrication
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Filepro-list [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+hemelancon=
> gifinc.com at lists.celestial.com] On Behalf Of Bob Rasmussen via
> Filepro-list
> > Sent: Monday, July 23, 2018 3:36 PM
> > To: rdfreedman BellSouth <rdfreedman at bellsouth.net>
> > Cc: Filepro List <filepro-list at celestial.com>
> > Subject: Re: Printer problem solution (kind of)
> >
> > The descriptions of PCL5 and PCL6 included below contain many errors and
> > mischaracterizations. But the key fact is accurate: PCL-6 is a completely
> > different animal from PCL-5.
> >
> > On Mon, 23 Jul 2018, rdfreedman BellSouth via Filepro-list wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> PCL6 or PCL6-XL is not backward compatible with PCL5... Totally
> different
> >> languages… found on the web...
> >>
> >> Language
> >> While HP considers both PCL5 and PCL6 to be printer command language
> drivers,
> >> each software uses different languages to deliver data to the printers.
> PCL5
> >> and previous versions of the HP drivers use ASCII code to send the data
> and
> >> commands from the computer application to the printer. PCL6 compiles
> the pages
> >> from the computer application into a binary format before sending the
> package
> >> to the printer. The new binary language is more compact and offers
> additional
> >> features.
> >> Functions
> >> Up to PCL5, printer drivers have limited functionality. These drivers
> give
> >> commands such as for a new page or new paragraph and identify the fonts
> for the
> >> document. The resolution is usually fixed and limited to 300 dpi. Under
> PCL6,
> >> the driver can also address the requirements of images and graphics. It
> >> translates vector diagrams as well as bit maps, and can handle higher
> >> resolutions. Since they process complex graphics commands directly, the
> PCL6
> >> drivers operate more quickly and generate less traffic.
> >> Operation
> >> The PCL drivers up to PCL5 use special characters to initiate commands,
> and
> >> send the text of the document to be printed as normal text. Printers
> respond to
> >> the special characters, usually prefaced by the character represented
> as "Esc"
> >> on a keyboard, by carrying out simple actions such as starting a new
> line. PCL6
> >> is oriented toward printing color graphics as well as text. Such
> printing
> >> requires more complex commands, and plain text becomes less important.
> PCL6
> >> takes commands from the operating system graphical user interface and
> >> translates them into commands for the printer. As a result, the
> printout more
> >> closely matches what the application shows on the computer screen.
> >> Compatibility
> >> HP includes all the commands from previous versions of PCL in the new
> PCL
> >> version. PCL5 is completely backward-compatible. PCL6 has a modular
> structure
> >> and, as such,
> >> doesn't include the older commands the same way. Instead, HP added a
> module called PCL6 Standard to ensure backward compatibility. Because of
> the new structure, this compatibility is not seamless, and HP recommends
> addressing compatibility problems with PCL6 by replacing the driver with
> the latest PCL5 version.
> >> HP Support sites:
> >>
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsupport.hp.com%2Fus-en%2Fproduct%2FHP-Universal-Print-Driver-Series-for-Windows%2F503548%2Fmodel%2F503519&data=02%7C01%7Chemelancon%40gifinc.com%7Ca4b7f6034b814a4aeec708d5f0dbf28b%7Ca3e66affd7674dabad3755c96bce6af7%7C0%7C0%7C636679749823964004&sdata=iNqlC3cFmkMx1TmdiSKQ00GIFO61lIhG8xZa8A0gMJI%3D&reserved=0
> >>
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww8.hp.com%2Fus%2Fen%2Fsolutions%2Fbusiness-solutions%2Fprintingsolutions%2FUPD.html%3Fjumpid%3Daf_s73wr2vct6&data=02%7C01%7Chemelancon%40gifinc.com%7Ca4b7f6034b814a4aeec708d5f0dbf28b%7Ca3e66affd7674dabad3755c96bce6af7%7C0%7C0%7C636679749823964004&sdata=hb5MPnnCoO9dF%2Fs7LR7OfNEqJc0Sp341C1SZaTHLEMc%3D&reserved=0
> >>
> >> HP's
> >> site notes their Universal Print Driver (UPD)… Their
> >> "UPD 6.1.0 is the last release of UPD to include PCL5."
> >>
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww8.hp.com%2Fus%2Fen%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-&data=02%7C01%7Chemelancon%40gifinc.com%7Ca4b7f6034b814a4aeec708d5f0dbf28b%7Ca3e66affd7674dabad3755c96bce6af7%7C0%7C0%7C636679749823964004&sdata=Q4BuTXvHrPI%2FtqIycJ4%2FW%2BZ9tD2%2BBpI092CGc%2B805tA%3D&reserved=0
> >> results.html?ajaxpage=1#/page=1&/qt=UPD%206.1.0
> >>
> >> A while back, I used an HP UPD in Windows 10). Seems I had to set it up
> in
> >> windows on an LPTx port, shared it, pointed filePro to the shared LPT
> port and
> >> it worked. If the computer has a hardware LPTx port, it has to be
> disabled in
> >> the bios before you do the above, otherwise it will 'loop' forever to
> itself.
> >>
> >> I fail to understand why HP would use PCL6 as most would think of it as
> an
> >> update to their PCL5 language, which it is not.
> >>
> >> Reggie
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: Henry Melancon via Filepro-list <filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> >
> >> Reply-To: Henry Melancon <hemelancon at gifinc.com>
> >> To: Filepro List <filepro-list at celestial.com>
> >> Sent: 7/23/2018 2:41:09 PM
> >> Subject: RE: Printer problem solution (kind of)
> >>
> ________________________________________________________________________________
> >>
> >> Fortunately for me, the large Ricoh copier/printer/scanners are still
> PCL5
> >> compatible and our FilePro prints to them with no problems.
> >>
> >> Henry W. Melancon
> >> Documentation Supervisor
> >> Quality Control
> >> Gulf Island Fabrication
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Filepro-list [mailto:filepro-list-
> >> bounces+hemelancon=gifinc.com at lists.celestial.com] On Behalf Of
> Richard Hane
> >> via Filepro-list
> >> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2018 1:23 PM
> >> To: Filepro List <filepro-list at celestial.com>
> >> Subject: Printer problem solution (kind of)
> >>
> >> We have 9 HP printers used on our network. Only 4 of them need filePro
> to
> >> print to them. He switched the (2) HP402DN printers for HP1606DN
> printers
> >> which have always worked with fp. Problem solved until we have to
> replace
> >> other old HP1606DN printers.
> >> I would like to hear from the list which HP printers you use and like.
> I
> >> prefer HP printers as they have always been good to me.
> >> BTW I heard from a couple of users that they had the same problem with
> this
> >> model HP402DN and replaced them.
> >> Thanks for all that responded. Now maybe I can go back to being
> retired and
> >> work of my model trains.Rick Hane
> >>
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> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >
> > Regards,
> > ....Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc.
> >
> > personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
> > company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
> > voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
> > fax: (US) 503-624-0760
> > web:
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anzio.com&data=02%7C01%7Chemelancon%40gifinc.com%7Ca4b7f6034b814a4aeec708d5f0dbf28b%7Ca3e66affd7674dabad3755c96bce6af7%7C0%7C0%7C636679749823974016&sdata=dWSV5NNmDooE1eph8y%2Bvrm7n3Ukdme2GaHKo8iW%2FXG0%3D&reserved=0
> > street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc.
> > 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9
> > Portland, OR 97223 USA
> > _______________________________________________
> > Filepro-list mailing list
> > Filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> > Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Subscription Changes
> >
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> > Filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> > Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Subscription Changes
> > http://mailman.celestial.com/mailman/listinfo/filepro-list
> >
>
> Regards,
> ....Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc.
>
> personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
> company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
> voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
> fax: (US) 503-624-0760
> web: http://www.anzio.com
> street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc.
> 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9
> Portland, OR 97223 USA
> _______________________________________________
> Filepro-list mailing list
> Filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Subscription Changes
> http://mailman.celestial.com/mailman/listinfo/filepro-list
>
--
bkw
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