HP LaserJet 4 Printer
Several new PCL features were added to the PCL 5 language with the
release of the HP LaserJet 4 printer. These new features are
summarized in Table 2-3. Most of these features are described in the
revised PCL 5 Printer Language Technical Reference Manual (part
number 5961-0509). (This revised technical reference manual is
supplied as part of the Technical Reference Documentation Package
which can be obtained by ordering part number 5961-0601.) In
addition, there are some additional differences for the HP LaserJet 4
printer that are not covered in the technical reference manual but are
described below.
Note
The HP LaserJet 4M printer, in addition to PCL, contains PostScript
and a LocalTalk I/O for printing in the Macintosh environment. PCL
operation and the PCL internal fonts for this printer are identical to the
HP LaserJet 4 printer. Thus, for PCL information for the
HP LaserJet 4M printer, refer to the HP LaserJet 4 printer features.
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Printer-Specific Differences 2-5
Table 2-3. PCL Feature Additions for HP LaserJet 4
Feature/Command
Support
Comments
Adaptive Compression System New
Adaptive compression system enables the printer to
compress internal raster data when memory becomes
low. This operation occurs automatically; there are no
PCL commands for this feature (refer to Chapter 5 for
ADC information).
Configuration Command
New
Allows PCL jobs to be printed (using LocalTalk or
EtherTalk MIO) using AppleTalk protocol.
Number of Copies
Modified
Supports 1-32,767 copies as does the HP LaserJet IIISi
printer.
Units of Measure Command
New
Allows selection of the units of measure for cursor
moves, drawing rules, and for character spacing (font
metrics).
Page Size
Modified
A parameter value is added for B5 envelope size; the
HP LaserJet 4 printer supports the four standard paper
sizes and five envelope sizes.
Bitmap Font Support
New Header
Printer will expand 300 dpi bitmap fonts to 600 dpi. A
new 300/600 dpi bitmap font descriptor has been added
to allow bitmap fonts to be created that work at either
1/300 or 1/600 inch printer resolution.
Scalable Font Support
New Header
A new Universal header has been added to allow
design of typefaces of different scaling technologies to
be supported by one header. This header is used to
support TrueType on the HP LaserJet 4 printer. (This
header will be used to support any other new scaling
technologies HP may add in the future).
TrueType
New
TrueType scaling technology support has been added to
the printer.
Internal Typefaces
New
Several new Intellifont and TrueType internal typefaces
(and supporting symbol sets) are now provided in the
printer.
Raster Resolution Command
Modified
Parameter values have been added to support raster
resolutions of 200 dpi and 600 dpi.
User-defined Pattern
New Header
A new 300/600 dpi user-defined pattern header has
been added to support patterns that work at either
1/300 or 1/600 inch printer resolution.
Continued on next page.
2-6 Printer-Specific Differences
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Table 2-3. PCL Feature Additions for HP LaserJet 4 (continued)
Feature/Command Support
Comments
Status Readback
New Feature
The addition of 6 new status readback commands
enable the user to receive certain information back
from the printer about fonts, symbol sets, macros,
user-defined patterns, and available memory.
Location Type Command
New
Used to specify a status readback type of location
(current, all, internal, downloaded, cartridge, SIMMs).
Location Unit Command
New
Specifies a status readback location unit (all,
temporary or permanent, highest-lowest priority,
specific SIMM).
Inquire Entity Command
New
Requests the status from the location (type and unit)
specified for fonts, symbol sets, macros, or
user-defined patterns.
Flush All Pages Command
New
Allows the user to clear page data from printer
memory.
Free Memory Command
New
This command returns the current available memory.
Echo Command
New
Allows the user to send a unique ID number to the
printer to be used as a “place holder.”
Bezier Curve Commands
New
HP-GL/2 commands (relative and absolute) that allow
a user to draw complex curves with less data required
than that required for arcs.
Label Origin
Modified
Label position LO 21 is provided for correct alignment
of HP-GL/2 text with PCL text.
Fill Polygon
Modified
Previously, the HP-GL/2 Fill Polygon command filled
polygons using the odd/even fill technique. A second
technique, non-zero winding fill, has been added.
Macros
Modified
HP-GL/2 is now supported in macros.
Configuration Command
New
Added to allow the user to communicate with the MIO
card in the printer.
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Printer-Specific Differences 2-7