Talk:Printer Command Language

Comments
From the article: * PCL1 was introduced in 1984 on the HP ThinkJet 2225 and provides basic text printing. ...   * PCL3 was introduced in 1984 with the original HP LaserJet, adding bitmapped fonts and graphics capability.

Actually, PCL has always had graphics capability. PCL1 on the Thinkjet ran at 150dpi, then the LaserJet series (PCL3) increased that to 300dpi, with 150dpi left in to maintain compatibility with older software that only suported PCL1. I've edited the page to reflect this.

Thanks: It's been difficult to find information on the older versions of PCL. --Gadget850 17:18, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

I've been working on a list of the PCL commands including what version of PCL they first appear in. That listing is not at a point where it could really be useful here, but perhaps with a little more work, we can fill in the details on what is and is not available in the different PCL levels. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.13.172.18 (talk • contribs)

compatibility between different version of PCL
I have a hard time to understand how the different PCL (3, 5 ... ) are compatible between them ? For example does PCL5 include everything PCL3 ?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.167.241.245 (talk) 10:19, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes PCL5 is backward contemptible with all previous versions, including PCL3. PCL3GUI is the only exception. --— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  10:29, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

PCL licensing terms?
Does anyone know the licensing terms of PCL? I read that it costs to put it into the printer firmware, but you can put it in the PC code for free. It seems like this would be an important thing to mention, especially because part of the reason for its existence was that PS had an expensive license. KeithCu (talk) 00:38, 19 March 2008 (UTC)


 * That depends on the vendor— I am not aware that HP licenses PCL, so there are a number of companies that have created implementations of PCL and license it for use. Peerless is one of the major vendors with customers like Canon, IBM, Konica Minolta, Kyocera Mita, Lenovo, OkiData, Ricoh, RISO, Seiko Epson, TallyGenicom and Xerox.  Then you have software to image and manage PCL from companies like PageTech, Red Titan and Swift.  Here is a sample Peerless license:  Note that Peerless has a package that includes Adobe PostScript, Peerless PCL and driver development kits.    --—  Gadget850 (Ed)  talk  -  01:34, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

Reply soon.. Thanks and regards, Alvi. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.70.150.18 (talk) 07:16, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

update?
I've noticed printers saying "PCLm" and "PCLmS", which I assume are newer PCL variants... -- 76.65.128.112 (talk) 12:09, 4 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Looks like a mobile version from the Wi-Fi Alliance. --  Gadget850talk 10:51, 5 January 2014 (UTC)
 * I found a patent with more information about PCLm: 'To create a streamable PDF document, a new protocol called Printer Control Language—Mobile (PCLm) has been created. PCLm has been developed using a subset of the PDF grammar…' (see https://www.google.com/patents/US20130100486). Stefan Nagy (talk) 16:20, 11 September 2014 (UTC)
 * PCLm is completely different from PCL. PCLm is a backwards-compatible subset of PDF which is designed to be streamable (it's not possible for later parts of the file to change previous parts, so pages can be printed in order without processing the entire file at once). PDF is based on postscript and PCL and postscript are not similar in any way shape or form. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:6C50:407F:FFCE:3C21:7E0A:1AF6:E569 (talk) 09:03, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

=
What is unique about PCLm/PCLmS is that it contains Job Ticketing metadata which is very important in future mobile printing applications. So, you will start seeing many more printers that will list support for PCLm/PCLmS format. The other format you will start seeing is PWG format, which also includes job ticketing information. Both of these raster formats will be used by mobile devices to minimize the code required to generate a print stream that could be printed to virtually any printer connected to the Cloud or easily viewed on any supporting device. There is very little information about PCLm/PCLmS format. But, PWG is very well documented and its positioning is explained at the W3 Printer Work Group website: https://www.pwg.org/. PageTech's PCLReader, PCLWorks and PCLTool SDK products all have the ability to view/transform both the PCLm/PCLmS and PWG formats including the job ticketing metadata. They can also convert PCL with whatever job ticketing data is available in PCL or PJL format into PCLm/PCLmS and PWG formats. Job ticketing information (copy count, duplexing, stapling, color, etc.) is used to determine which printers are available that can print your file.