HP PCL/PJL reference (PCL 5 Color) - Technical Reference Manual

EN Color Vector Graphics (HP-GL/2) 7-17
NP (Number of Pens)
The NP command resizes the palette after the IN or ?*v#W
commands.
NP [n;]
or
NP[;]
* The default palette size for the HP color printers is 8.
• n — the parameter n denotes the size of the HP-GL/2 palette,
where n is a power of two. If n is not a power of two, the next
larger power of two is used. The palette is an array of virtual
pens, each having an associated color value and an
associated width. Pen colors are defined in terms of RGB
components using the PC command. Widths are established
using the PW and WU commands. A pen is selected with the
SP command.
The maximum value for n is device-dependent, but is greater than or
equal to the number of distinct colors the printer is able to produce. If
n is larger than that maximum, the maximum-sized palette is
allocated. If n < 2, error 3 is set and the command is ignored.
The “NP;” command defaults the palette size. Receipt of this
command does not default pen colors and/or widths for existing pen
values. For example, if the palette size is initially 8 and is decreased
to 4, pen colors and widths for the new palette are retained from the
colors and widths of the first 4 pens of the old palette. If the palette
size is increased from 8 to 16, the colors and widths for the first 8
pens remain the same, and the colors and widths of the remaining
pens are defaulted. The pens are defaulted in accordance to how the
palette was created (either CID or Simple Color palettes).
Parameter Format Functional
Range
Parameter
Default
n clamped
integer
2 to 32768 device-dependent*