Why does my PCL5 and HP-GL/2 code work successfully on PCL6 printer?

[jbasedata]

Just a point of clarification really, to help me and others understand this better.

My understanding is that with PCL6 being compiled code, it is not backwards compatible with PCL5, which I take to mean that PCL6 printers do not support PCL5 codes.

However, I've written quite a lot of PCL5 code with HP-GL/2 combined, containing logos, line drawings, arcs and character styles and it all works perfectly well on the below printers, all of which say they support PCL6 (without any mention of PCL5).

Brother HL-L6300DWT Supports PCL6, PS and PDF
Brother MFC-L2750DW Supports PCL6, PS and PDF
Brother MFC-7860DW Supports PCL6 and PS

Is this simply that Brother printers typically also support PCL5 too, but that they don't mention it in the specs.?

 

[jlasman]

There are apparently a few of Brother PCL6 printers that also support PCL5; although they are not advertised as such. Whether or not there are PCL5 windows drivers for these printers, I don't know. Perhaps there is a control panel setting to select PCL5 as the default.

Jim Asman

http://www.spectracolorservices.com

 

[jbasedata]

Thanks for the reply, you've confirmed what I suspected. That's good to know, as it explains why it's working. I also found that we can send PCL5C containing a color logo to the Brother MFC-L2750DW and it prints perfectly in monochrome, although if we send the same PCL5C file to the older MFC-7860DW machine, then it prints an almost solid block.

So it appears as you say that Brother supports PCL5 and PCL5C on some models. There isn't anything to configure specifically in any of these printers' configuration pages for PCL5. Even the much higher spec. Brother HL-L6300DWT doesn't refer to PCL5 anywhere in the extensive set-up parameters, although it does refer to PCL6 as a protocol, along with PDF and PS, all of which can be switched on or off.

Incidentally, I'm sending the PCL codes direct to the printer, not through a driver.

 

[jlasman]

A few years ago, I had a customer that indirectly purchased my MKPCL program through a consultant to print signatures. They had purchased 1500 of these printers. The specs said PCL6 only, but Brother assured them that PCL5 was in fact supported. Apparently, the printer actually defaulted to some kind of Epson speak, and the only way we could get it to work with PCL5 was by starting with PJL commands that ended with

@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PCL

then the PCL job
<esc>%-12345X

HP lasers are generally smart enough to determine the language from context.

I only brought up the issue of drivers considering that if Brother says the printer supports PCL5 they may be then obligated to maintain Windows and Mac drivers.

Jim Asman

http://www.spectracolorservices.com

 

[jbasedata]

I just noticed when printing from Windows applications via the Brother printer driver supplied with the MFC-7860DW here, it automatically wraps Postscript within the PJL, exactly as your example for PCL...

[pre].%-12345X@PJL JOB.@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = POSTSCRIPT .%!PS-Adobe-3.0..%%Title: Microsoft Word - Document1..[/pre]
[pre]%%Creator: PScript5.dll Version 5.2.2..%%CreationDate: 8/17/2019 09:47:13..%%[/pre]
[pre]For: user01..%%BoundingBox: (atend)..%%Pages: [snip][/pre]


The Brother machines we've been using for several years all provide a setting in configuration to choose between automatically selecting the print language (including Epson as you say), Postscript, or AUTO. I believe AUTO is now the default but it might not have been in the past, where you mention your customer.

One of the numerous reasons we use Brother, rather than HP, is that Brother doesn't appear to want to make life difficult for folks who prefer just a basic generic driver. Brother supports PCL and Postscript at the small-office end of the printer market, making it possible to even avoid installing any software at all. HP's software on the other hand is often a lot of unwelcome bloatware. The other main reason is HP's notorious consumables tactics - especially those which have an environmental impact such as discarding non-refillable items before they are empty. We've also had so many HP printers fail after just over a year's use, whereas the Brother machines are still going strong after eight years!

 

[jbasedata]

Just to add a bit of further information, it appears that when Brother refers to PCL6 support, it assumes this to include PCL5e. The link below is to a Brother PCL programmer's manual for a color printer - relevant text pasted below the link.

https://download.brother.com/welcome/doc002907/Tech_Manual_AC.pdf

1.ABOUT THE MANUAL
This technical reference manual is intended to help you get the most out of each of the emulation modes supported by your HL-Series printer. [snipped]

"PCL6" includes both "PCLXL" and "PCL5e".
As for "PCL5e", it is described in "chapter 2 PCL" of this manual.
As for "PCLXL", it is mainly used with Windows driver, and its command is structured by binary code. Therefore, it is not described in this manual. For basic set-up information, such as how to connect the printer to your computer, look in the User's guide. The User's guide also describes the printers control panel and how you can set various options using the keys.

 

[jlasman]

Thanks for the update and the link. Many people I encounter have run into this. I have saved a copy for future reference.

Jim Asman

http://www.spectracolorservices.com

 

[jbasedata]

Yes, I've done likewise — I'm afraid these days of losing some valuable bit of tech. information that I might never find again!

That guide also refers quite openly in Chapter 3 to PCL5C, and this was a link from the documentation page of HL-L3230CDN color printer that only mentions PCL6. I think therefore we can take it as a fairly authoritative claim that Brother includes PCL5C.