Later PCL printers understood HP-GL. Some more links.

You're right that HP-GL is/was the language used to control HP pen plotters. Later versions of the Laserjet printer could print HP-GL graphics.

[link|http://www.csgnetwork.com/hppclhist.html|This] page says:

PCL 5 As the foundation of the HP LaserJet III, HP LaserJet IIID, HP LaserJet IIIP, and HP LaserJet IIISI, PCL 5 provided ultimate office publishing functionality. It was released to allow compatibility for industry acceptance for font scaling, outline fonts and HP-GL/2 (vector) graphics. PCL 5 was designed for more complex desktop publishing, graphic design, and presentation applications. Introduced in mid-1990 with the HP LaserJet III, this is the most widely used version of PCL compatibility in use by customers.

A little more searching on Usenet yields:

[link|http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.postscript/browse_thread/thread/b41246718cd8e3dc/3cafd9300ae7a9fa?q=acrobat+pcl+tiff&rnum=1#3cafd9300ae7a9fa|This] thread that talks about using psroff to convert files from PCL to Postscript.

[link|http://www.ira.cnr.it/manuals/Postscrip/chapter3|This] part of the PostScript FAQ says:

Subject: 3.3 How can I convert HP Laserjet language (PCL) to PostScript?

Use lj2ps for simple PCL. Alternatively, another lj2ps, from psroff3.0, is a little more complete.

hp2pbm can convert all of PCL4 (up to and including rasters, downloaded fonts and macros) into PostScript, G3 and any other PBM-supposed format.

Unfortunately, hp2pbm seems to be an old package that isn't easy to get working on Linux according to [link|http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=hp2pbm&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&sa=N&tab=wg|these] threads. Similarly for lj2ps.

It's not clear whether Acrobat can handle conversions like this. There are some tantalizing comments on Usenet, but it's not clear.

There are obviously commercial packages out there that do PCL to PS or PDF conversions. They might ultimately be the best way to go.

Alternatively, changing your code to write PostScript might be more effective than trying to reinvent these wheels. Though I haven't done such programming myself, my understanding is that PostScript is pretty easy to pick up.

Finally, take a look at [link|http://www.hitachi-printingsolutions.us/techsup/manuals/DDP92/PCL.pdf|this] manual from Hitachi. It covers PCL 5E programming. Check especially p.43+ of the file on Raster Graphics. It might give you the answers you're looking for. They mention TIFF and various FAX formats. If you're not using PCL 5E you might need to consult other sources.

HTH. I'm about googled out on this topic. :-)

Cheers,
Scott.

ImageMagic convert handles the creation of the PCL data stream for the Logo.
I can pull it in my Perl code and spit it out.
It is ugly right now due to the fact I am starting with a colored GIF and need to convert it to a monochrome image, which in turn makes it trashy looking.
The image is our corp logo, so I'm sure i can get a much better original.

I don't like Postscript, and what little I do know about Postscript is
meaningless here. This is a weekend whip something up that will probably never be used but will be a decent starting point.

The 2D barcode generating utility is the real $$, and it costs a lot more to go to something that I can use in my PDF logic, so I'm OK right now with the PCL, and convert the final to PDF if I want to via pcl6. But the printer I have access to (for this project) are native PCL, you no reason to go to PS 1st.

Post #203,659 by Another Scott 4/17/05 4:13:44 PM Reply	Later PCL printers understood HP-GL. Some more links. You're right that HP-GL is/was the language used to control HP pen plotters. Later versions of the Laserjet printer could print HP-GL graphics. [link\|http://www.csgnetwork.com/hppclhist.html\|This] page says: PCL 5 As the foundation of the HP LaserJet III, HP LaserJet IIID, HP LaserJet IIIP, and HP LaserJet IIISI, PCL 5 provided ultimate office publishing functionality. It was released to allow compatibility for industry acceptance for font scaling, outline fonts and HP-GL/2 (vector) graphics. PCL 5 was designed for more complex desktop publishing, graphic design, and presentation applications. Introduced in mid-1990 with the HP LaserJet III, this is the most widely used version of PCL compatibility in use by customers. A little more searching on Usenet yields: [link\|http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.postscript/browse_thread/thread/b41246718cd8e3dc/3cafd9300ae7a9fa?q=acrobat+pcl+tiff&rnum=1#3cafd9300ae7a9fa\|This] thread that talks about using psroff to convert files from PCL to Postscript. [link\|http://www.ira.cnr.it/manuals/Postscrip/chapter3\|This] part of the PostScript FAQ says: Subject: 3.3 How can I convert HP Laserjet language (PCL) to PostScript? Use lj2ps for simple PCL. Alternatively, another lj2ps, from psroff3.0, is a little more complete. hp2pbm can convert all of PCL4 (up to and including rasters, downloaded fonts and macros) into PostScript, G3 and any other PBM-supposed format. Unfortunately, hp2pbm seems to be an old package that isn't easy to get working on Linux according to [link\|http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=hp2pbm&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&sa=N&tab=wg\|these] threads. Similarly for lj2ps. It's not clear whether Acrobat can handle conversions like this. There are some tantalizing comments on Usenet, but it's not clear. There are obviously commercial packages out there that do PCL to PS or PDF conversions. They might ultimately be the best way to go. Alternatively, changing your code to write PostScript might be more effective than trying to reinvent these wheels. Though I haven't done such programming myself, my understanding is that PostScript is pretty easy to pick up. Finally, take a look at [link\|http://www.hitachi-printingsolutions.us/techsup/manuals/DDP92/PCL.pdf\|this] manual from Hitachi. It covers PCL 5E programming. Check especially p.43+ of the file on Raster Graphics. It might give you the answers you're looking for. They mention TIFF and various FAX formats. If you're not using PCL 5E you might need to consult other sources. HTH. I'm about googled out on this topic. :-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #203,660 by broomberg 4/17/05 4:27:29 PM Reply	Almost there ImageMagic convert handles the creation of the PCL data stream for the Logo. I can pull it in my Perl code and spit it out. It is ugly right now due to the fact I am starting with a colored GIF and need to convert it to a monochrome image, which in turn makes it trashy looking. The image is our corp logo, so I'm sure i can get a much better original. I don't like Postscript, and what little I do know about Postscript is meaningless here. This is a weekend whip something up that will probably never be used but will be a decent starting point. The 2D barcode generating utility is the real $$, and it costs a lot more to go to something that I can use in my PDF logic, so I'm OK right now with the PCL, and convert the final to PDF if I want to via pcl6. But the printer I have access to (for this project) are native PCL, you no reason to go to PS 1st.
Post #203,662 by broomberg 4/17/05 4:32:06 PM Reply	Great manual from Hitachi - thanks

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