PCL help needed

[sreekuax]

Hello All,

I am trying to print to a HP 9500N Printer from QAD Mfg/Pro application. Unfortunately we are not getting the print in proper format.
Following is the PCL I have used in settings :

Initialize Ctrl: /027E
80 Column Start: /027E/027&l26A/027&l70P/027&l0O/027(8U/027(s0p14h8
v0s0b3T/027&l8D/027&l0S/027&k2G
132 Column Start: /027E/027&l26A/027&l70P/027&l0O/027(8U/027(s0p17.6
6h8v0s0b3T/027&l8D/027&l0S/027&k2G

Attaching the scanned copy of the print from printer for above control code. Please have a look at the place where the check format is there.. we would like to get the date and amount printed in proper places.. Is it possible ? Pls help asap

ThanksView attachment AF1CF298.pdf

 

[TomBascom]

Maybe you've changed it for posting but, usually, escaped characters are represented with a "\" not a "/".

 

[sreekuax]

Maybe you've changed it for posting but, usually, escaped characters are represented with a "\" not a "/".

Hi Tom,

I am not so expertised in PCLs... I am trying different codes...(which is already in other systems) If you can help me out in changing this PCLs so that I can get it right.. it will be helpful..

 

[TomBascom]

I know nothing of how mfg/pro sets up printers. But I would start by changing all instances of "/" to "\".

The second possible problem is that usually \027 would mean "the character specified by octal 027" (also known as "ETB"). That seems unlikely since PCL print codes are introduced with an ESC character and that is octal 033 (decimal 27).

So, perhaps, mfg/pro parses these codes as decimal values. Or maybe your problem is that /027 should be \033.

Beyond that the rest of the control sequences look like typical PCL control codes. But they are never going to work if the ESC character isn't correctly represented. So the first thing to do is to get that corrected.

Surely QAD has some documentation on this somewhere?

 

[mosfin]

So, perhaps, mfg/pro parses these codes as decimal values.

yep, these are decimal codes, and no need to change "/" to "\"
this is how QAD allows to enter escape (control) codes into printer init string
the only control char which is NOT supported is NULL or /000
probably because it is used as string terminator in C
(some printers use NULL character as part of init string, e.g. Epson Stylus T27 printer
to exit 'Packet' mode, and therefore need to be initialized using Init Pogram cmd)

as for the check PCL print, it seems the output of the program that prints the check,
is not aligned with the check form, either the line/char spacing/width should be increased
(check PCL programming gudie for the correct escape code/s) or you should customize the program
and add extra new-lines and spaces where needed

 

[sreekuax]

yep, these are decimal codes, and no need to change "/" to "\"
this is how QAD allows to enter escape (control) codes into printer init string
the only control char which is NOT supported is NULL or /000
probably because it is used as string terminator in C
(some printers use NULL character as part of init string, e.g. Epson Stylus T27 printer
to exit 'Packet' mode, and therefore need to be initialized using Init Pogram cmd)

as for the check PCL print, it seems the output of the program that prints the check,
is not aligned with the check form, either the line/char spacing/width should be increased
(check PCL programming gudie for the correct escape code/s) or you should customize the program
and add extra new-lines and spaces where needed

Hi Mosfin...

I can look for customization... but can you tell me where I can get the PCL programming gudie so that I can check the codes..

 

[boryanap]

in QAD support is

FOR HP is
Printer Definition
Output T0: supjet1 &n. bsp; Printer Type: hp laser
Description: hp laser printer Lines / Page: 60
Max Pages: 0 Scroll Output: no
Device Pathname: lp -dprinter -s Spooler: yes
Initialize Command:
Initialize Ctrl:
80-Col Start Ctrl:/027E/027&l0O/027(8U/027(s0p10h12v0s0b3T/027&l66P
/027&l2E/027&l7.8689C/027&l66F/027&k2G
132-Col Start Ctrl:/027E/027&l0O/027(0U/027(s0p16.66h8.5v0s0b0T/027&l
66P/027&l2E/027&l7.8689C/027&l66F/027&k2G
Reset Ctrl:
Reset Command:

OUR HP is settup also exactly like this.
about PCL you can read in HP web-site

 

[sreekuax]

in QAD support is

OUR HP is settup also exactly like this.
about PCL you can read in HP web-site

Hi boryanap,

Thanks for the info. In our system to most of the HP Printers are having the above said 80 and 132 column settings.
But my if you can help me in the above problem mentioned i.e identifying the set of control codes which I can use to make
it print exactly the date and price values to the check.. then it will be gr8 !

 

[boryanap]

i really dont have much time but what i found is the basic PCL commands here http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpl02705; if u cannot solve it just open ticket in hp and they will do the support

 

[Nik Brown]

Hi, I am new to this world but I have a been forced recently to swap from an HP LaserJet 8000 to a fairly new Ricoh MFP. Producing invoices etc from our MFG pro was tough on the new printer. I struggled to get it working then somebody told me to change the printer type to PCL5 and progress was made. I would suggest that if you haven't already got a solution, you could try changing from printer type HP Laser to PCL5 and see what happens.

 

[Bob Pooley]

Here are some resources for those that need to debug, learn or maintain applications that deal with HP PCL:

1. PCLCodes.com - PCLCodes program - disassembles PCL escape codes into readable ASCII English.

2. PCLWorks.com - a collection of useful programs for PCL application developers which includes PCLWorks, PCLCodes, PCLSplit, PCLFilter and IMG2PCL programs.

3. PCLTool SDK - Various options that can capture PCL, redirect it as input to programs to view, convert, extract text from, split, insert barcodes, merge, streamedit and index PCL.

And, there's PCLHelp.com and Tek-Tips.com (PCL forum).

Regards,
BP

 

[joerocket]

I've found the HP PCL Tech Refererence Manual to be very helpful. (It's also painfully verbose)

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/bpl13210/bpl13210.pdf

 

[joerocket]

Here's the QAD Printer Control formatting from our Check Printer (HP p3005n):

80 Column Start: /027E/027&l0O/027(0N/027(s0p11.4h10v0s0b3T/027&l2E
/027&k2G
132 Column Start: /027E/027&l0O/027(0N/027(s0p16.66h8.5v8s0b0T/027&l
2E/027&k2G

To get everthing lined up, I did a lot of trial and error on this part: "(s0p11.4h10v0s0b3T"

Hope it helps.

 

[sreekuax]

Here's the QAD Printer Control formatting from our Check Printer (HP p3005n):

80 Column Start: /027E/027&l0O/027(0N/027(s0p11.4h10v0s0b3T/027&l2E
/027&k2G
132 Column Start: /027E/027&l0O/027(0N/027(s0p16.66h8.5v8s0b0T/027&l
2E/027&k2G

To get everthing lined up, I did a lot of trial and error on this part: "(s0p11.4h10v0s0b3T"

Hope it helps.

Thanks alot... I managed somehow to get it right long time back ..and to my surprise when I see that code now.. its the same what you have given here the s0p11.4h10v0s0b3T part ! ..