Print Image Using PCL

[dsteds]

I have researched this and still cannot find a useful tutorial or explanation of how to do this. The HP documentation gives a great list of steps and then at the part where the image data is used, it says "transfer the raster data to the printer..." My question is how does one do that? Here is what I want to do. I continually print several documents with digitalized signatures, etc on them and I have found a way to pull all of the text information from the database into a report automatically, but without the graphics, the automation is worthless. As a result, I need to render these signatures and such to PCL images so they can be printed on the page. So far, I used Image-Magic to convert an image to a PCL file. That file looks like gibberish, but I can see the binary data in a binary viewer. Does each line of this file need to be converted to binary and then hard coded as PCL codes into my report? Ideally, I would like to upload the image to the printer and simply reference it in my code as is the case with fonts. Anyhow, any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[jlasman]

Well, you need to "print" the PCL file; i.e., copy the PCL file to the printer. The trick is to build the image as a permanent macro so it won't print immediately when sent to the printer, but rather later when it is executed in your code.

To get the macro into the printer...

From DOS copy /b pclfile LPT1: (or other printer port)
or copy /b pclfile \\servername\printersharename

From Unix lp -d printername -o raw pclfile

Go to my website and grab a copy of the MKPCL manual where you
will find a motr detailed explanation.




Jim Asman

http://www.spectracolorservices.com