Description

The pcl2afp command transforms a PCL data stream file into an AFP data stream file.

The PSF DSS runs the pcl2afp command automatically whenever:

  • InfoPrint Manager identifies the format of a document in a print job as PCL.
  • You use the pdpr command to specify document-format=pcl with the -x flag or in an attributes file.
  • You specify a data type of -odatatype=pcl with an AIX print command (enq, lp, or qprt) or with the lprafp command.

If you specify multiple values of the same flag, pcl2afp uses the last value specified, except for the -p flag. Multiple values of the -p flag are accumulated and the pages identified for printing are printed in normal numerical sequence, regardless of the order you specify.

When using the pcl2afp command, you can specify an optional input file name. If you do not specify an input file name, pcl2afp uses standard input. The output file name is also optional; if you do not specify one, the pcl2afp command writes the results to standard output.

Information about the flags you can specify with the pcl2afp command:

  1. You can pass flags to pcl2afp using the other-transform-options document attribute on the InfoPrint Managerpdpr command or the -o flag of the AIX print commands (enq, lp, and qprt) or the InfoPrint Managerlprafp command.
  2. When you run pcl2afp as a standalone transform, flags can appear anywhere on the command line with or without a blank in the flag and value pair.

    When you specify pcl2afp transform flags with the other-transform-options attribute, any string containing a blank must be surrounded by single quotes.

    Do not use a blank between the flag and the value when you specify pcl2afp transform flags with an AIX print command or with the lprafp command.

  3. When you specify flags with the pcl2afp command, pcl2afp echoes them back to your display along with the settings for the flags. To suppress the command echoing, enter the -q (quiet) flag along with the pcl2afp command.
  4. The order in which InfoPrint Manager uses PCL options is as follows:
    1. Any options you specify on the command line with the pcl2afp command (for example, -r300), including values contained in the customized configuration file you specify with the pcl2afp -C command. If you specify the same option more than once, InfoPrint Manager uses the last value.
    2. Values contained in the configuration file, pcl2afp.cfg, in the current directory, if you invoked pcl2afp directly. If you invoked pcl2afp indirectly by submitting a print job with a data type of PCL, pcl2afp ignores any configuration files in the current directory, and proceeds to step 4.3.
    3. Values contained in the pcl2afp.cfg file your home directory.
    4. Values contained in the default pcl2afp command configuration file:
      For AIX or Linux
      /usr/lpp/psf/pcl2afp/pcl2afp.cfg
    5. Values contained in the customized configuration file you specify with the pcl2afpd -C command.
    6. Values contained in the default pcl2afpd daemon configuration file:
      For AIX or Linux
      /usr/lpp/psf/pcl2afp/pcl2afpd.cfg
      For Windows
      install_path\pcl2afp\pcl2afpd.cfg
    7. Values contained in the pcl2afpd.cfg file when pcl2afpd was started.
    8. The defaults that are built into pcl2afpd. These defaults are the same as the defaults for the pcl2afp flags.
  5. The position of PCL data on the page depends on the interaction of the -l and -w flags, the -x and -y flags, and the form definition you use. In general, to position data on the page:
    • Use -l and -w to set the physical page dimensions.
    • Use a form definition that specifies zero vertical offset and zero horizontal offset (for example, F100S, F100D, or F100T) or specify X and Y offsets of 0 when you submit the print job. For more information, see Transforming PCL image data, the 'How to specify exact placement of PCL output using zero vertical and horizontal offset' section.
    • Use -x and -y to avoid any areas that your printer cannot print.
  6. You can specify the pcl2afp flags and values with the pcl2afp command, with the pdpr -x "other-transform-options" command, or with enq -o, lp -o, qprt -o, or lprafp -o command. You can also specify equivalent attributes with the -x flag or in an attributes file with the pdpr command.

The pcl2afp transform uses these Embedded Microtype Fonts:

  • Albertus Medium
  • Albertus Extra Bold
  • Antique Olive
  • Antique Olive Italic
  • Antique Olive Bold
  • Arial
  • Arial Italic
  • Arial Bold
  • Arial Bold Italic
  • Avant Garde Book
  • Avant Garde Book Oblique
  • Avant Garde Demi
  • Avant Garde Demi Oblique
  • Bookman Light
  • Bookman Light Italic
  • Bookman Demi
  • Bookman Demi Italic
  • Clarendon Condensed Bold
  • Coronet
  • Courier
  • Courier Italic
  • Courier Bold
  • Courier Bold Italic
  • Courier Bold Oblique
  • Courier Oblique
  • Garamond Antiqua
  • Garamond Kursiv
  • Garamond Halbfett
  • Garamond Kursiv Halbfett
  • Helvetica
  • Helvetica Bold
  • Helvetica Bold Oblique
  • Helvetica Narrow
  • Helvetica Narrow Bold
  • Helvetica Narrow Bold Oblique
  • Helvetica Narrow Oblique
  • Helvetica Oblique
  • Letter Gothic
  • Letter Gothic Italic
  • Letter Gothic Bold
  • Marigold
  • New Century Schlbk Bold
  • New Century Schlbk Bold Italic
  • New Century Schlbk Italic
  • New Century Schlbk Roman
  • CG Omega
  • CG Omega Italic
  • CG Omega Bold
  • CG Omega Bold Italic
  • Palatino Bold
  • Palatino Bold Italic
  • Palatino Italic
  • Palatino Roman
  • Symbol
  • CG Times
  • CG Times Italic
  • CG Times Bold
  • CG Times Bold Italic
  • Times New Roman
  • Times New Roman Italic
  • Times New Roman Bold
  • Times New Roman Bold Italic
  • Times Bold
  • Times Bold Italic
  • Times Italic
  • Times Roman
  • Univers Medium
  • Univers Medium Italic
  • Univers Bold
  • Univers Bold Italic
  • Univers Condensed Medium
  • Univers Condensed Medium Italic
  • Univers Condensed Bold
  • Univers Condense Bold Italic
  • Zapf Chancery Medium Italic
  • Zapf Dingbats
  • Wingdings

The pcl2afp transform also uses the Line Printer embedded Bitmap Font.

Font substitution occurs when a set of capabilities, such as Symbol Set, Spacing, Pitch, and Typeface, are compared to the fonts available to the rip, and the closest match wins. You cannot disable font substitution. If an error occurs during font substitution, the error is not logged. When a custom font in included in the data stream, and the PCL job refers to it, the custom font is used.

For more information about the pcl2afp transform, see “Working with Transforms” in the InfoPrint Manager: Procedures manual that is appropriate for your operating system.

Parent topic: pcl2afp command: transforms PCL data to AFP