Printer Command Language Format (PCL)

The Printer Command Language vector format was developed by Hewlett-Packard, specifically to provide a means of communication between computers and printers. The PCL files contain the commands and the HP printers parse and decode those commands. This format also includes HPGL. For more information about HPGL, refer to PLT.

LEADTOOLS ePrint Professional supports version 3.0 and 5.0 of this file format.

The default extensions used by this format are: PRN, PRT and PCL.

This format is used by Visual PCL, PCLTOOLS, redtitan EscapE and AutoVue.

This file format does not support layers or grouping, but it does support embedded raster objects.

PCL filter supports many features such as:

Support for Raster, text and rectangular area.
Support for Macros.
Enhanced performance of the filter.
Support for HPGL mode in PCL
Raster fonts
RTL Raster data
Support for all compression methods (RLE, TIFF, Delta, Adaptive and Unencoded).
Support for old versions of PCL v.3, besides v.5.
Viewing PJL with POSTSCRIPT data (requires the PDF filter)
Support for user-defined and pre-defined patterns
Support for Unicode symbols
Detecting non-standard PCL/HPGL files that lack a correct header

When PCL files are rasterized, they are 24 BPP.
When PLT files are rasterized, they are 4 BPP.

The following table indicates which objects LEADTOOLS ePrint Professional can save:

Object:	Save:
Arc	Supported
Circle	Supported
Lines	Supported
Pie	Supported
Point	Supported
PolyBezier	Not Supported
PolyDraw	Not Supported
Polygons	Not Supported
Polyline	Not Supported
Raster	Supported
Rectangle	Supported
Text	Supported