Question

PCL XL Error in Networked printer

Asked by: kvallerie

What does this mean?  I was printing fine on my old computer and now I am getting this error with the new computer. The printer is networked and works for everyone else except me. Also I can print fine to all the other network printers. I have tried deleting the printer and re-installing it to no avail. I can't figure out what I did wrong.  This is the error:
Subsystem:  KERNEL
Error:  IllegalOperatorSequence
Operator:  0x1b
Position: 6

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Asked On
2008-04-29 at 13:54:56ID23363627
Tags

xl

,

pcl

,

error

Topic

Printers

Participating Experts
3
Points
125
Comments
8

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Answers

 

by: alexmclvPosted on 2008-04-29 at 14:29:19ID: 21466374

What brand/model is this printer? I had an issue with a Kyocera one and I solved by changing the printing language. This is what I did (the exact buttons and tabs might be different depending on your printer)

- Open the Properties window for this particular printer.
- Click on the Device Settings tab.
- Click on the PDL button, and select "PCL 5e" or "KPDL" (depending on the printer model).

 

by: wyliecoyoteukPosted on 2008-04-29 at 15:15:05ID: 21466669

Probably a driver error.
What version of windows are you using?
Vista needs different drivers to XP.

 

by: DansDadUKPosted on 2008-04-30 at 05:21:40ID: 21469980

The PCL6 (PCL XL) interpreter in the printer is indicating that the structure of the data received in the print stream is incorrect.

The 0x1b character is the Escape character (used in other Page Description Languages (PDLs) such as PCL5 and ESC-P); but it is not expected in a PCL XL print stream (other than incidentally, as part of a binary count, etc.).

It could be that the driver has generated a bad print stream, or that a good print stream has been corrupted (e.g. by bad cable, connector, switch, etc.).

Another possibility (given the 0x1b) is that some applications (e.g. Word) have features which allow print control characters to be inserted into a print job at certain points; if this feature has been invoked, and a PCL5 escape sequence injected, this is NOT compatible with use of a PCL6 print driver.

Changing to a different PDL (such as PCL5, PostScript, etc., as supported by the printer) will mean that you shouldn't get any PCL XL errors being reported.

But you may get different errors with another language; PCL5 is probably the most forgiving, in terms of ignoring corrupt sequences.

 

by: kvalleriePosted on 2008-04-30 at 06:11:15ID: 21470348

The printer is an HP LaserJet 4300 and because it networked and I am the only one with this issue on this printer I am a bit perplexed. Everyone here uses XP Pro SP2, and the only that has changed is the computer. The old computer also ran XP Pro SP2. To add to the mystery, several others have had the same model of new computers installed and they can all print to this printer with no problem. However, I was just handed a list of possible work-arounds which I will test and post here if any of them work.

 

by: wyliecoyoteukPosted on 2008-05-01 at 13:38:58ID: 21482529

PCL6 is an embarrassment to HP from their behaviour, the PCL6 manuals have been removed form the website, and PCL6 queries seem to be ignored.
PCL5 is well documented and reliable-use that.

 

by: kvalleriePosted on 2008-05-01 at 13:47:45ID: 21482606

Thank You, I will  try that.

 

by: DansDadUKPosted on 2008-05-02 at 05:03:31ID: 21485926

The PCL6 manuals are still available:

Navigate to the developer web site:

http://www.hpdevelopersolutions.com

Then select the "Public Software Development Kits" option.

Then select the "LaserJet and Digital Sender" kit area.

Then select the "Printer Languages | PCL 6 | PCL 6 documents" folder, which gives access to various PCL6 documents (most are in PDF format).

 

by: kvalleriePosted on 2008-05-02 at 13:13:22ID: 21489721

Thanks everyone! I finally caved in and used the PCL5 driver and printing has returned to normal.  I desperately wanted to figure out why the printer didn't work with the PCL 6 driver but to no avail. Have a great weekend!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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