Breakdown of HP PCL5 Font Strings

Resolving The Problem

This document provides information about the HP PCL5 font control strings by laser printers which support the HP PCL5, HP PCL5e, HP PCL5c or HP PCL6 printer languages (for example, HP LaserJet 4, 5, 6, 4000 and 8000 printers, IBM Infoprint 1000 series printers, Lexmark Optra printers, and others). This information is intended to be used when creating a modified Workstation Customizing Object (WSCST) to get Host Print Transform (HPT) to print in a different font.

This document assumes you understand the workstation customizing procedure. These are the changes to the retrieved source of the system host print transform manufacturer type and model *WSCST object. For more information on modifying a Workstation Customizing Object object, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document:

N1010140: Instructions for Modifying a Workstation Customizing Object (WSCST)

Notes:

1.	The point size controls do not have an effect on the fixed pitch fonts.
2.	The primary pitch controls do not have an effect on non-fixed pitch (or typographic) fonts.
3.	The LinePrinter font is a special fixed pitch font that requires both the primary pitch and the point size to be specified and requires a Symbol Set command to be sent prior to the font command. Also, the LinePrinter font only supports 16.67 pitch and 8.5 point, so it always contains X'31362E363768382E3576'. However, the LinePrinter 16.67 font can be spaced out to other Characters Per Inch (CPI) values using the Horizontal Motion Index (HMI) command. For more information, refer to the following section entitled PCL5 Font String for a LinePrinter 16.67 CPI Font to be Printed at 13.3 CPI.
4.	Not all combinations of font control strings give anticipated results. It is best to print out the PCL resident font listing on the printer. This gives the supported control strings for that printer. Select the typeface family and note the variable area in the font listing. Areas of most flexibility are the primary pitch variations for fixed pitch fonts or point size for variable spacing fonts.
5.	It might be necessary to include Primary symbol set controls preceding the font string. For example, the HP printers use the ISO6:ASCII symbol set for most fonts. Print out the PCL font listing on the printer. If you see the <esc>(0U preceding the string, this is the symbol set. The <esc> translates to X'1B', the '(' translates to X'28', the '0' translates to X'30', and the 'U' translates to X'55'. Therefore, <esc>(0U translates to X'1B283055'.

This document was last updated on 4 April 2014.


Explanation of Fixed Pitch Fonts

A fixed pitch font is one where all of the characters have the same width. Many printers, including dot matrix and line printers, will support printing fonts at particular pitches or Characters Per Inch (CPI) values, such as 10 CPI, 12, CPI, 15 CPI, 16.67 CPI, 17.1 CPI, or 20 CPI. However, most HP PCL5 compatible laser printers support scalable fonts that can be scaled to fit whatever pitch is specified.

For example, an HP LaserJet printer has a maximum print line of 8.0 inches in portrait, so only 80 characters will fit at 10 CPI. If you need to print an 85 character spooled file in portrait on an HP LaserJet printer you could specify to print a scalable Courier font at 10.63 CPI, which would be slightly smaller than printing at 10 CPI. That would be able to print all 85 characters because 85 divided by 8 = 10.625, which rounds up to 10.63.

Notes Concerning Fixed Pitch Fonts:

o	When using fixed pitch fonts, every character has the same width. For example, 10 pitch or 10 CPI means that 10 characters will fit within an inch. Therefore, each character is 1/10 of an inch wide.
o	The space character is same width as every other character, so there is no problem using spaces to position columns of data.
o	When selecting a fixed pitch font using an HP PCL5 font string, the printer hardware must have the selected font or typeface built-in and it must support either scalable fonts or the specific pitch or Characters Per Inch (CPI) that is being specified. If not, the PCL5 font string specified can produce unpredictable results.
o	Printers that use the HP PCL3 or HP PCL3 GUI printer languages, such as certain HP DeskJet or HP OfficeJet printer models, may only support 10 CPI, 12 CPI and 16.67 CPI fonts.

Explanation of Non-Fixed Pitch (or Typographic) Fonts

A non-fixed pitch, or typographic, font is one where each of the characters have their own width. For instance, a lower-case "i" is much narrower in a typographic font than an uppercase "W". In fixed pitch fonts, all characters have the same width, including the letters "i" and "W." Fixed pitch fonts are specified using the pitch or Characters Per Inch (CPI) value which indicates the font width. The characters are not all the same width in Typographic fonts, so they are specified using the point size, which indicates the font height.

Notes Concerning Typographic Fonts:

1.	When using non-fixed pitch (typographic) fonts, the character widths vary depending on the character. For example, a lower-case "i" is a very narrow character and an uppercase "W" is a very wide character. The space character is typically a very narrow character as well, so using it to position columns of data can cause alignment problems.
2.	Non-fixed pitch (typographic) fonts use an implied CPI value, based on the width of the space character, to align fields when using DDS. Using non-fixed pitch (typographic) fonts with columns of fields can also cause alignment problems.
3.	Because non-fixed pitch (typographic) fonts have characters of variable widths, care should be taken with the use of underlining and overstriking. Highlighting or underlining text by printing a line with the Space After (SPACEA) value of 0 and then printing another line containing underline characters or "repeated" text might not work correctly. The HIGHLIGHT and UNDERLINE DDS Keywords are recommended when using typographic fonts.
4.	When selecting a non-fixed pitch or typographic font using an HP PCL5 font string, the printer hardware must have the selected font or typeface built-in and it must support full scalability of the font point size being specified. If not, the PCL5 font string specified can produce unpredictable results.