Overview of the Enhanced (PCL XL) or PCL6 Driver

PCL 6 is the next evolution of the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet PCL language and related technologies. PCL 6 has three key components, one component, referred to as PCL 6 Enhanced has been optimized for printing from graphical user interfaces (GUIs) like Microsoft (R) Windows and OS/2. The second component referred to as PCL 6 Standard provides complete backward compatibility with past HP LaserJet printers. The third component is referred to as Font Synthesis.

The Enhanced PCL XL or PCL6 driver that is included with the HP LaserJet printers provides enhanced WYSIWYG and enhanced performance with application support over the Standard (PCL5e) driver. PCL XL is a new page description language by HP that is part of PCL6 and is closer to GDI, which many applications use. Less translation takes place by the driver, which means increased WYSIWYG capabilities and better performance with applications that support escapes implemented by the Enhanced driver. The output from the Enhanced (PCL XL) driver may not be the same as the output from the Standard driver. If the output is not as expected, choose the Standard (PCL5e) driver instead.

PCL6 Functionality

PCL 6 Enhanced commands are designed to optimally match the graphics printing requirements for GUI-based applications. In most cases, for every graphics print command that a GUI wishes to perform, there is a matching PCL 6 Enhanced command. This reduces the number of commands required to describe a graphics page.

Each command in PCL 6 Enhanced is designed to require minimal data transfer from the host PC to the printer. This reduces the amount of data required to describe a page.

The Windows Printing System for most HP LaserJet printers provides two separate drivers: Standard and Enhanced. The Standard driver provides backward compatibility by using PCL 6 Standard (PCL5e) commands to print simple text or mixed text and graphics pages. The Enhanced driver utilizes the PCL 6 Enhanced commands that have been optimized for printing complex graphics pages.

Benefits of PCL6

Compatibility with current HP LaserJet printers ensures that documents will look the same, and users will not have to worry about changing formats.

By reducing the number of commands and amount of data required to describe a graphics page, users experience faster return to application and be able to print more complex graphics pages in standard memory.

Also, by matching the graphics commands in the printer to the graphics interface of the GUIs, users experience true WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) for all pages.