Specifications

printed, PCL consists largely of commands designed to trigger various features and capabilities of the
printer. These commands fall into four categories:
■ Control codes. Standard ASCII codes that represent a function rather than a character, such as
Carriage Return (CR), Form Feed (FF), and Line Feed (LF).
■ PCL commands. Basically the same type of escape code sequences used by dot-matrix printers.
These commands comprise the majority of a PCL file’s control code and include printer-specific
equivalents to document parameters, such as page formatting and font selection.
■ HP-GL/2 (Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language) commands. Commands that are specific to the
printing of vector graphics as part of a compound document. An HP-GL/2 command consists of
a two-letter mnemonic that might be followed by one or more parameters that specify how the
printer should process the command.
■ PJL (Printer Job Language) commands. Enable the printer to communicate with the PC bidirection-
ally, exchange job status and printer identification information, and control the PDL the printer
should use for a specific job and other printer control panel functions. PJL commands are lim-
ited to job-level printer control and are not involved in the printing of individual documents.
PCL has evolved over the years as printer capabilities have improved. PCL versions 1 and 2 were used
by Hewlett-Packard inkjet and daisywheel impact printers in the early 1980s and could not be consid-
ered to be full-fledged page description languages. The first LaserJet printer released in 1984 used PCL
3, and the latest models contain PCL 6. Table 1 lists the various versions of PCL, the major capabilities
added to each new version, and the HP laser printer models that use them.
Table 1 Hewlett-Packard Printer Control Language (PCL) Versions
Version Date Models Benefits
PCL 3 May 1984 LaserJet, LaserJet Plus Full page formatting; vector graphics
PCL 4 Nov. 1985 LaserJet Series II Added typefaces; downloadable
macros; support for larger bitmapped
fonts and graphics
PCL 4e Sep. 1989 LaserJet IIP, IIP Plus Compressed bitmap raster fonts;
images
PCL 5 Mar. 1990 LaserJet III, IIID, IIIP, IIIsi, Scalable typefaces; outline fonts;
HP-GL/2 (vector) graphics
PCL 5e Oct. 1992 LaserJet 4, 4M, 4L, 4ML, 600dpi support; bidirectional
4P, 4MP, 4 Plus, 4M Plus, communication between printer and
5P, 5MP, 5L, 5L-FS, 5Lxtra, PC; additional fonts for Microsoft
6L, 6Lxi, 6Lse, 6P, 6MP, Windows
6Psi, 6Pse and newer
PCL 5c Oct. 1994 Color LaserJet, Color Color extensions
LaserJet 5, 5M, Color
LaserJet 4550
PCL 6 Apr. 1996 LaserJet 5, 5se, LaserJet 6, Redesigned, object-oriented graphics
6Pse, 6Psi, 6MP, 2200, handlers for faster printing and font
4050, 5000 series, and synthesis for better document fidelity
newer
PCL XL 1996 LaserJet 6P, 6MP Enhanced graphics commands;
multipage printing on one sheet;
watermark; smaller file sizes