10/10/03

5.4.Creating Downloadable Fonts

5.4.1.Downloading

You can download existing fonts (that is, ones that you have bought or ones that you have created previously) using either a font downloading application program or the DOS command

COPY/b <filename> PRN

In addition, some word-processing and DeskTop publishing programs will automatically download the fonts that have been used in a document when that document is printed.

Alternatively, you can create a new downloadable font and download the necessary blocks of data that comprise the downloadable font using PCL commands.

To send a font, you must send

*a font descriptor block followed by the character code

*a character descriptor

*data for each character

The printer can download 3 types of fonts.

Bitmap fonts, Bound Scalable fonts and Unbound Scalable fonts.

5.4.2.Sending the font descriptor

Esc)s#W (font descriptor data) (27)(40)(115)#(58) <1Bh><28h><73h>#<88h>

This command sends the font descriptor to the printer.

# should be in the range 0 to 32767.

# is the number of bytes in the descriptor.

Characters are designed on a notional grid known as the character cell. The positioning and shape of each character on the grid defines its size, shape and alignment to the other characters in the font.

Cell width

Cell height

x-height

Baseline distanc

Baseline

Underline distanc

Underline thickn

CHAPTER 2 "PCL" - 50

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Homelite HL-2400CE, HL-P2500, HL-1660E, HL-1450, 2060 Creating Downloadable Fonts, Downloading, Sending the font descriptor