LaserWriter IINTX: Can‘t Print HPGL Files Without Translation



There are no Macintosh systems involved in this.

HPGL (a Hewlett-Packard protocol), and my LaserWriter IINTX can emulate an HP
LaserJet Plus.

Therefore, if you connect our LaserWriter IINTX to a PC through the serial
port, can you print HPGL format? (I don't want to convert the file before
printing.)

Is it up to the program I'm using to emulate an HP plotter on an Apple
LaserWriter?

Briefly, the LaserWriter IINTX emulates an HP LaserJet Plus. LaserJets use
PCL, not HPGL; a PC printing an HPGL print job cannot print to a LaserWriter
IINTX.

Hewlett-Packard uses different printer control languages -- including HPGL and
PCL -- for their different printers. HPGL is commonly used by CAD/CAM type
programs for outputting to plotters; PCL is used by more common, generic
programs for outputting to HP LaserJets and similar printers.

Apple's PostScript LaserWriters emulate Diablo 630s. In addition, the
LaserWriter IINTX emulates an HP LaserJet Plus; therefore, a program that uses
PCL and is LaserJet Plus compatible can print to the LaserWriter IINTX when the
LaserWriter IINTX is in its LaserJet Plus emulation mode. Again, you cannot
print an HPGL print file directly (without file translation) on the LaserWriter
IINTX.

If you want to print to an Apple LaserWriter, you must use a program that
supports a Diablo 630, LaserJet Plus, or PostScript-compatible printer. If your
program and drivers do not support these types of printers, you need to export
and, possibly, translate the data before importing the data to a program that
does -- whether that program runs on a PC, Macintosh, or another system.


Published Date: Feb 18, 2012