image separation. In general, for all HP LaserJet printers, tall, narrow images should be avoided since they typically require more memory.

Wide Patterns — Patterns can use up a lot of memory— avoid them if possible. Avoid patterns which, in their final orientation, are not 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 (32 is for all but the 4L) bits wide. Patterns of other sizes will be tiled out to the full width of the page and can consume a large amount of memory (since the HP Color LaserJet printer does not perform this way, it is not a factor for this printer). Note that a landscape pattern that is 16 wide by 5 high would become 5 wide by 16 high when rotated and be subjected to being tiled across the page.

Avoid Unnecessary Pattern Selection — In HP-GL/2, avoid issuing redundant Fill Type (FT) and Line Type (LT) commands. These commands may cause patterns to be rebuilt and tiled for each invocation.

Avoid Many Small Polygons — In HP-GL/2 avoid entering and exiting polygon mode repeatedly as it fragments memory. If possible send down fewer, larger polygons.

Download Font Characters as Needed — All PCL 5 printers operate best if fonts and outlines downloaded do not include information for characters which are not used upon the current page. It is also best to download bitmap characters in the orientation which they will be used.

Note When deleting font characters and patterns, remember that if a pattern or font character is used on the current page, any deletion commands affecting it will not be executed until the page is printed.

5-6 Memory Usage