PCL Feature Support

Table 1-1, the PCL Feature Support Matrix, lists all the printer commands from the PCL 5 Printer Language Technical Reference Manual and identifies which of these commands are supported by the various printers. More detailed PCL information for each PCL 5 printer is provided in Chapter 2.

Note The PCL 5 Printer Language Technical Reference Manual (part number 5961-0509) was revised for the release of the HP LaserJet 4 printer and contains all PCL language features up to the HP LaserJet 4 printer.

With the introduction of the HP LaserJet 4 printer, Hewlett-Packard enhanced the PCL 5 printer language to provide some new features. The major improvements to the PCL 5 printer language are listed below.

600 dpi support for higher quality printing

45 scalable typefaces for greater type variety

TrueType rasterizer (in addition to the Intellifont rasterizer) for fast Windows printing, and for matching Windows and printer type (easy WYSIWYG)

New graphics commands for faster and better curves and shading quality

Bi-directional I/O for easier use and sharing by providing printer status to computer applications

Automatic and faster printer language switching

Automatic I/O switching for faster I/O rates

Improved memory management so most pages print in standard memory

Improved PCL and HP-GL/2 performance for faster graphics and text printing

Feature Set 1-3