Auto PDL Detection Function

Overview

The Auto PDL Detection function gives the MFP the ability to determine the PDL of a job or of specific parts of a job. This can be especially useful in cases where the PDL is not specified or if the job contains multiple PDLs. This is only possible if the job was not created using a driver.

Conditions for detection of the PDL

The MFP will only attempt to detect a job's PDL if all of the following conditions are met.

• No @PJL ENTER LANGUAGE command is contained in the job
• No submission protocol options (lpr, ftp, rcp, or rsh options) have been used to specify the PDL
• User Tools > Printer > System > Printer Language = Auto

PDL detection by the printer system, PCL interpreter and PS interpreter

There are 3 components in the printer which can perform Auto PDL Detection:

1. Printer system:
   Uses a set of triggers unique to PCL5, PS or PDF. Up to 2KB from the start of the job can be searched for triggers.
2. PCL interpreter:
   It can detect PS triggers in PCL data. If a PS trigger is detected, the PCL interpreter will abort processing and return the unprocessed part of the job back to the printer system. Up to 256 bytes from the start of each page can be searched for triggers.
3. PS interpreter:
   It can detect PCL5 triggers in PS data. If a PCL trigger is detected, the PS interpreter will abort processing and return the unprocessed part of the job back to the printer system. The entire page (regardless of the number of bytes) is searched for triggers.

The Printer Language setting and Default Printer Language setting in WIM:

PDL selection and switching

3 types of PDL selection/switching are performed:

1. PDL selection (PCL5 or PS (including PDF)) at the beginning of the job: performed by the printer system
   
2. PDL switching from PCL5 to PS: performed by the PCL interpreter and the printer system
   
3. PDL switching from PS to PCL5: performed by the PS interpreter and the printer system
   

Triggers

• Printer system

  PCL5 triggers	[ESC]E [FF]
  PS triggers	%!PS-Adobe-3.1 "%!" "dict begin" "bind def" "findfont" "showpage" "/statusdict" "0 startjob" [EOT] "}" + space character + "def" "userdict" (*)
  PDF triggers	%PDF- %!PS-Adobe-M.nPDF- (*M, n=numeric)

  * "userdict" is excluded by configuring Printer Bit Switch 5-3=1.

  

  • Up to 2KB from the start of the job can be searched for triggers.
  • "%%" can be added to the PS triggers by configuring Printer Bit Switch 5-3=1
  • If a job is identified as PDF, it will be sent to the PS interpreter to be processed as a regular PS job.

• PS interpreter

  PCL5 trigger

  [ESC]E and 2 or more continuous PCL commands

  

  Up to 256 bytes from the start of each page can be searched for triggers.

Some possible problems

• Garbled output:
  If a string of characters (or binary data) is mistaken as a trigger and an incorrect PDL is applied, the output will be garbled.
• Incorrect printer settings:
  Printer settings, for example the paper size, is incorrectly applied. This can happen when the printer settings at the beginning of the job are initialized before a PDL switch occurred and no settings were configured for the rest of the job.

Printer Bit Switch description

• Bit Switch 2-3
  This controls Auto PDL Detection by the PCL interpreter and PS interpreter.
  BitSW 2-3=0 (default):
  If PDL switching is applied to the job, all of the printer system, PCL interpreter and PS interpreter will search for switching criteria (triggers).
  BitSW 2-3=1:
  Only the printer system will search for switching criteria (triggers). PCL/PS interpreters will not.

• Bit Switch 5-3
  This affects the PDL switching criteria (triggers) used by the printer system.
  BitSW 5-3=0 (default):
  "%%" is not used as a printer system PS trigger. "%%" will not call the PS interpreter.
  BitSW 5-3=1:
  "%%" is used as a printer system PS trigger.
  The reason that "%%" is not included as a trigger by default, is that a string of text in the body of the job such as the below, could result in a false positive. This would trigger a switch and result garbled output.
  %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
  However some customers prefer that "%%" be included as a switching criteria. BitSW5-3=1 should be used in such a case.

  

  A side effect of BitSW5-3=1 is that "userdict" will no longer be used as a PS trigger.

• Bit Switch 9-0
  These determine whether Auto PDL Detection for print jobs transmitted via USB/parallel will wait 10 seconds to make sure the first 2KB of the job has been sent.
  The Printer system portion of the Auto PDL Detection function is only performed on the first 2KB of a job and can wait up to 10 seconds for that first 2KB to arrive. As the printer is unable to detect the end of jobs submitted over a USB/Parallel connection, it might be preferable to not wait 10 seconds if jobs of less than 2KB are going to be printed. Enabling/disabling this waiting time is the purpose of BitSw 9-0.
  BitSw 9-0=0 (default):
  The printer system will not wait 10 seconds for the first 2KB of data to arrive.
  BitSw 9-0=1:
  The printer system will wait up to 10 seconds for the first 2KB of data to arrive.

Up to 2KB from the start of the job can be searched for triggers.

"%%" can be added to the PS triggers by configuring Printer Bit Switch 5-3=1

If a job is identified as PDF, it will be sent to the PS interpreter to be processed as a regular PS job.