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Optimising Windows LaserJet PCL printer settings for Pcl2pdf

10/4/2015

 
If you are trying to use Pcl2pdf to convert Windows print files generated by LaserJet PCL printer drivers then there are a few tips here which may help. First, use a standard LaserJet III or 4 printer driver if possible. We've also had feedback that the straight LaserJet 5 driver can work well.

The default Windows LaserJet PCL printer drivers are written and provided by Microsoft. Hewlett-Packard do write their own for the LaserJet 4, 5, 6, 4000, 5000 and 8000 range of printers and often these provide more printer specific functionality and better PCL code output.

You can download HP's own Windows NT PCL drivers from LaserJet PCL 5e Drivers for HP LaserJet 4, 5, and 6 Series Printers and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Also check out the Hewlett-Packard main web site for new updates.
Windows 7, 8 and later

We recommend disabling the HP-GL/2 "vector" graphics output from your printer driver. You can do this by altering your Windows printer driver's configuration as detailed here. Use Windows Control Panel, open the Printers folder and right click on the printer driver required. Which method works best will then depend on what options your driver offers:-
Try selecting Printing Preferences... and then the button Advanced... There could be several options to try though not all obvious. Look for the Document Options section. Try disabling either of Advanced Printing Features or Print Optimizations.

Or try the settings from the attached screen grab for the driver's Advanced Options (from Printing Preferences). Set TrueType font to Substitute... and disable Print Optimizations.

HP LaserJet Advanced Options
Older Windows

The screen displays shown below illustrate how you can also reconfigure your driver to give optimal output for Pcl2pdf. You may find that your driver has its screens laid out differently but look around for similar options. To get to these screen use Window's Start/Settings/Printer menu option, right-click on the PCL printer driver and choose Properties. On Windows NT you may instead have to double-click on the driver to open it and then select Printer/Document Defaults.

a) Setup the driver to use raster graphics and not HP-GL/2 vector graphics
b) Setup the driver to download TrueType fonts and bitmap soft fonts, not scalable

Graphics Mode
Graphics

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    Neil Geddes

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