HP PCL/PJL reference - Printer Job Language Technical Reference Manual

A-44 Product-Specific Feature Support EN
Comments about HP LaserJet Printers
This section explains some important points that should be
considered when using PJL with HP LaserJet 4, LaserJet 5, and
Color LaserJet printer families, and the HP LaserJet 6P/6MP printers.
Support for the features described in this section varies. HP LaserJet
family printers that support a particular feature are listed at the
beginning of each feature description.
Printer Language Switching
Printers that perform context switching automatically switch printer
languages when both of the following conditions are met:
• The PERSONALITY variable is set to AUTO.
• The print job contains printable data but does not contain an
ENTER command immediately before the printable data.
Note HP LaserJet 4PJ and 4LJ Pro printers perform implicit language
switching, but not context switching.
HP LaserJet 4V and 4MV printers cannot context-switch into the
ESC/P language—use explicit switching instead.
Under these conditions, the printer samples the incoming printable
data and looks for indications of a particular printing language. Once
it recognizes the printer language, the printer backs up to the
beginning of the sampled print data and switches to the printer
language determined to be most appropriate. Then the printer begins
to parse the data in the newly selected printer language.
Although the printer can accurately select printer languages this way,
we recommend that every job containing printable data include an
ENTER LANGUAGE command to explicitly switch to the correct
printer language. This method improves performance and eliminates
errors in printer language switching. It also guarantees that the
correct language is always selected.
Printers supporting printer language switching:
HP LaserJet 4, 4M, 4 Plus, 4M Plus, 4V, 4MV, 4Si, 4SiMx,
4ML, 4P, 4MP, 4PJ, 4LJ Pro, 4000 series, 5, 5M, 5P, 5MP,
6P, 6MP, 5Si, 5SiMx, 5Si Mopier, HP Color LaserJet,
HP Color LaserJet 5, 5M, 2100 series, 4500 series,
5000 series, 8000 series, 8100 series, 8500 series