Specifications
Glossary
Absolute plotting A method of plotting in the HP-GL and HP-GL/2 graphics language where
coordinates are specified relative to the origin of the coordinate system
currently in use.
Anchor point The top left-hand corner of the PCL picture frame. You can position this on
the page using a PCL command.
Anisotropic scaling A form of image scaling using the SC command in HP-GL and HP-GL/2
mode in which the user units can be of different sizes. Hence the entire
graphics window can be used to display the image.
ASCII The standard system for assigning number codes (0 ~ 255) to alphabetic,
numeric and control code characters.
Attribute A characteristic of a downloadable font or a character of a Downloadable font
that is represented by a number of a fixed length.
Bitmap font A font whose characters are defined as raster images. The characters that
make up a bitmap font are of a fixed size.
Bold A wider line thickness for typographical characters, used to make the text
stand out, for example, in headings.
Calling a macro A way of running a macro in which changes to the modified print environment
are not retained when the macro has finished running.
Cartridge A storage medium that you can insert into the printer cartridge slots.
Cartridges can store fonts. The advantage of using cartridges is that they
allow you to use more fonts without taking up printer memory space.
Cartridge font A font that is stored on a cartridge. These are widely available commercially.
Character cell The imaginary grid on which downloadable characters are designed.
Character code A number assigned to a character that uniquely identifies it.
Character descriptor A block of data that describes the characteristics of an individual character in
a downloadable font, such as its width and height.
Character set A selection of different characters. Characters sets normally include the
alphabet in both upper- and lowercase, the digits' 0-9, punctuation marks,
common mathematical symbols and a few other useful characters. There are
also some specialized character sets that are used for specific applications like
mathematics. A font is defined as having a particular character set.
Column A vertical sub-division of the page whose width is equal to the HMI
(horizontal motion index). The print position moves across the page one
column width when any single character is printed ( in a monospaced font),
or when a space character is printed ( in a proportionally spaced font). See
also HMI.