Understanding PCL 6 and PCL 5e printer command syntax

Before using printer commands, compare these characters:

Lowercase l:	l	Uppercase O:	O
Number one:	1	Number 0:	0

Many printer commands use the lowercase letter l (l) and the number one (1), or the uppercase letter O (O) and the number zero (0). These characters might not appear on your screen as shown here. You must use the exact character and case specified for PCL 6 or PCL 5e printer commands.

The figure below displays the elements of a typical printer command (in this instance, a command for page orientation).

Escape character (begins						Value field (contains both
escape sequence)						alpha and numeric characters)

Parameterized	Group	Termination character
character	character	(uppercase)

Combining escape sequences

Escape sequences can be combined into one escape sequence string. There are three important rules to follow when combining code:

1The first two characters after the ? character (the parameterized and group characters) must be the same in all of the commands to be combined.

2When combining escape sequences, change the uppercase (termination) character in each individual escape sequence to lower case.

3The final character of the combined escape sequence must be uppercase.

The following is an example of an escape sequence string that would be sent to the printer to select legal paper, landscape orientation, and eight lines per inch:

?&l3A?&l1O?&l8D

The following escape sequence sends the same printer commands by combining them into a shorter sequence:

?&l3a1o8D

176 Appendix C Printer commands

ENWW

4300dtn, 4200tn, 4200n, 4200dtnsl, 4200dtn specifications

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HP 4200n manual Understanding PCL 6 and PCL 5e printer command syntax, Combining escape sequences

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