PCL (Printer Control Language) is currently considered a standard format for documents that are prepared for printing. Although it was initially designed only for Hewlett-Packard inkjet printers at its release in the 1980s, the PCL format was gradually adopted by other brands as well and nowadays it is compatible with most laser-jet printers.

PCL is a great alternative to PostScript, not only because it is more widely adopted in the industry, but also because it is simpler, faster to operate and cheaper. The PCL format is based on an open language and it is “printer-ready” — it can be operated even from DOS or UNIX. This gives more advantages to PCL than to other similar formats such as PDF or TIFF, making it a reliable and convenient extension for archiving printable documents.

reaConverter’s latest edition supports conversion of multipage PCL files to lots of other formats, offering a number of additional features during the process. For example, you can choose to convert all pages of a file or only a selection of them, you can opt for converting multipage PCLs to another multipage format — such as PDF or TIFF, and you can also decide if you want to convert each page into a separate document or not.

Install reaConverter

How to use reaConverter

Start reaConverter and load one or more multipage PCL files into reaConverter’s main window. Drag-and-drop them or select them manually.

You can also add entire folders or use the Advanced file select tool and add a choice of PCL files from a folder that contains other extensions too.

Multipage loading settings

Go to the Menu button and click Loading settings → Multipage loading settings

Here you can decide to convert all pages from each input file, or only a selection.

In the Loading settings menu, you will also find Multipage editing actions settings

Where you can opt for applying editing actions to all pages or only to some of them.

Multipage saving settings

To select how you want your output files to look like, go to Menu → Saving settings → Multipage files… and tick one of the available options.

You can save each multipage to another or every page to a separate file, among others.

Edit images

Optionally go to the Edit images tab and choose to crop, rotate or add any other feature from the wide list available here.

When you tick the Preview button in the upper right corner, the results of your selection will be available to see in real time.

Save the result

In the Saving options tab, pick the location and format of the output files. You can save them offline, in the source folder or in another folder of your choice. Saving online is also an option, if you use one of the cloud storage services. Finally, pick the format of the output files from the buttons placed in the lower part of the screen. If you want to convert from multipage to multipage, don’t forget to pick an appropriate format, such as PDF or TIFF.

Then simply press Start and enjoy your newly converted files!

Video Tutorial

Advanced users can convert convert multi-page PCL file using command line interface or DLL in manual, automated or scheduled mode. You are welcome to contact our technical support when you have any questions about reaConverter.

The PCL (Printer Command Language) format was initially designed only for Hewlett-Packard inkjet printers in the 1980s, but in time it became a standard applied all over the printing industry. Though similar to PostScript in terms of features, PCL works faster and simpler. It is also less expensive, being an open language used almost universally by laser-jet printers.

reaConverter’s latest edition allows you to convert documents to the HP-PCL format, for both monochrome and color printers, in a matter of seconds. PCL 5/6, PCL 4 and PCL 3 are supported. The batch conversion can be managed manually, by adding all desired documents to reaConverter, or it can be automated — either by using the Watch Folders feature or via command-line. Watch Folders allows you to designate a folder in which all dropped documents are automatically converted to PCL, while command-line lets developers include PCL conversion into their customized software solution.

How to convert into HP PCL via reaConverter?

First of all, download and install reaConverter from reaconverter.com and then follow the simple steps of the conversion process.

Install reaConverter

Load all the documents you intend to convert

Add all the files you intend to convert. Use the drag-and-drop tool or the Add files button to find them. You can convert JPEG, PDF, DOC, DWG documents, and other formats.

Select HP-PCL as the output format

Select PCL as the output format for your files. This can be done by clicking the appropriate button from the ones placed in the lower part of the window.

In case you don’t see PCL there, click the Plus button and pick it from the list of available saving formats.

Customize PCL settings

Customize the output file by following this path: Menu → Saving settings → Format saving settings → PCL. You can get to the same place by clicking the Gear icon placed in the upper left corner of the PCL button from your main window.

Here you can customize the page size used by the output image, the position on the page, and prepare it for color / monochrome printing.

Start PCL conversion

Finally, go to Saving options and pick the location for your output files. You can save them in a local folder of your choice.

Then simply press Start and your new HP-PCL files will soon be ready!

Video Tutorial

Advanced users can create HP-PCL documents via command line interface or DLL in manual, automated or scheduled mode. You are welcome to contact our technical support when you have any questions about reaConverter.