Provided by:
pclcomp_0.99.1-1_i386 
NAME
pclcomp - Compress PCL graphics files.
SYNOPSIS
pclcomp [ -0123drsvxz ] [ -n num ] [ infile [ outfile ]]
DESCRIPTION
Pclcomp compresses (or decompresses) HP-PCL (Printer Control Language)
graphics data. The supported compression modes are 0 (uncompressed),
1, 2 and 3. Pclcomp will read files using any of the modes 0 through
3, and will output using the modes which will give the best
compression. This compressed version of the file may be sent directly
to a PCL compatible printer, thus reducing I/O bandwidth. Pictures may
also be saved in compressed form, reducing disk usage. In addition,
PCL "imaging" files for the PaintJet XL are also supported.
The options to pclcomp control the compression modes. By default,
pclcomp will use modes 0, 2 and 3, but the user may restrict which
output modes it uses by specifying them on the command line with the
-0, -1, -2 and -3 options. To decompress a file, simply specify -0 as
the only mode to use for output. Mode 0 ( -0 ) should always be
allowed since modes 1, 2 and 3 cannot be guaranteed to be better than
mode 0 for all types of pictures.
The -z option disables the zero "strip" feature. Since most printers
do zero "filling", pclcomp, by default, "strips" the trailing zeros of
each row (or plane) of data. Some printers or programs may require
that zero "stripping" be disabled.
By default, pclcomp expects the input raster width to be 2400 pixels
(8" at 300 dpi), and if it is different (e.g. PaintJet), then the
raster width should be specified by the Source Raster Width escape
sequence (<esc>*r#S). However, many applications do not set the width
and assume a default, therefore, the user may use the -n option to
pclcomp to specify a new default raster width. For PaintJet (8" at 180
dpi), the number should be 1440. If the PCL file contains the Source
Raster Width escape sequence, it will override this default. If
pclcomp thinks that more data is coming in than the specified width, it
will generate a warning, and continue processing (and perhaps
truncating) data.
The -x option will cause pclcomp to remove any horizontal offset
sequences from the data. Only use this option if white is defined to
be zero (as with LaserJets). This will shrink the data more if modes 2
or 3 are used.
The -r option causes pclcomp to append a reset sequence (<esc>E) to the
end of the job.
Use the -d option to pclcomp if the output is to be sent to a DeskJet
printer.
Some applications erroneously send <esc>*rB and <esc>*rA sequences
between every row of graphics data. The -s option to pclcomp will
"strip" all <esc>*rB sequences, and all <esc>*rA sequences after the
first occurrence of this sequence. In addition, text and control
characters residing between <esc>*rA and <esc>*rB sequences will be
discarded. While this will work well for many jobs, it may have
problems on multi-page or complex jobs.
The -v option simply gives statistics to stderr about which compression
modes were used.
EXAMPLES
To compress a PCL file for LaserJet III, use:
pclcomp infile outfile
To compress a PCL file for the PaintJet (A size page at 180 dpi), use:
pclcomp -01 -n 1440 infile outfile
To compress a PCL file for DeskJet, use:
pclcomp -d012 infile outfile
To fully decompress a PCL file, use:
pclcomp -0z < infile > outfile
WARNINGS
The -z option can cause the output to be larger than the input.
The -s option is useful, but it can cause erroneous output.
The -x option can cause black areas on the left side of the picture on
color printers.
AUTHOR
Tony Parkhurst, Hewlett-Packard, San Diego Division (tony@sdd.hp.com)
PCLCOMP(1)