When preparing one or more PDF documents for print on a device that uses the Printer Command Language, converting to PCL is be the best solution. Compared to PDFs, PCLs files are faster to print and generally offer better accuracy for both fonts and graphics. PCL files are created for a particular printing hardware and shape the image data so as to best fit its requirements. This makes the printing process work quicker and generally be more effective.

Though initially created only for Hewlett-Packard printers, PCLs are now widely supported by many other brands as well, being considered a de facto printing standard, together with PostScript (PS).

reaConverter’s latest edition helps you manage PDF to PCL conversion in no more than a few clicks and also allows you to customize the process by picking the desired output page size, positioning the image or designing the PCL for monochrome or color printers.

Install reaConverter

How does it work?

Start reaConverter and add all the PDFs you intend to convert to PCL by using the drag-and-drop tool or by picking them one by one from a local folder.

In case the PDFs are mingled with other formats in a folder, you can use the Advanced file select feature that will allow you to automatically select only your desired extension.

Save the result

In the Saving options tab, pick the location of the resulting PCLs. Save them in the source folder, a subfolder or another folder of your choice.

Finally, pick PCL from the buttons placed at the bottom of the main window. If it’s not there, click Plus and find it in the newly opened window. Then place the pointer on the upper left corner of the PCL button and click the Settings button.

Alternatively reach the same location by following this path: Menu → Saving settings → Format saving settings → PCL

Now you can opt for a particular page size (A4, A6 or other standardized formats), position the input image on the output page and pick the type of printer you will use.

reaConverter lets you create PCLs for color or monochrome printers using different types of PCL versions (3, 4, or 5/6).

Then simply press Start and enjoy your new PCL files!

Video Tutorial

Advanced users can customize PDF to PCL conversions 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.

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 first used in the 1980s by Hewlett-Packard inkjet printers for creating digital copies of printed documents and developed in time as an industry standard. It now continues to be used by various models of printers, including laser-jets. Files with this extension are somewhat similar with PostScript (PS), though they offer less features and are more difficult to open.

Users usually prefer converting PCL to PDF for easier access and transferring options. With reaConverter, this conversion can be automated by activating the Watch Folders option.

Install reaConverter

This can help save a lot of time and effort by avoiding repetitive operations. Here is how.

Turn ON Watch Folders

First, make sure the Watch Folders option is activated, by clicking the Menu button and then checking ON in the Watch Folders dropdown menu.

Create Source and Output Folders

Separately, create two new folders: one will be the input folder, where you place the PCL images, and the other will be the output folder, where the resulting PDFs will be stored. All images dropped into the input folder will automatically be converted to PDF files after you’re done with configuring the steps below.

Create Configuration Files

Create a .cfg (configuration) file in which you specify the desired output format for your “watch folder” files. This can be done easily by clicking Save configuration as, after selecting PDF as output format and clicking the Menu button. Apart from conversion to PDF and setting the location of the output folder, you can also add a series of other options here, including those related to PDF Security Settings (Menu → Saving Settings → Format Saving Settings → PDF), which allow you to automatically insert a password for the output files, or allow their printing, editing and copying.

Initialize Watch Folder

Finally, go back to Menu → Watch Folders → Settings, load the .cfg file you created previously and assign it to the desired input folder.

All images included here will now be automatically converted to PDF and stored wherever you have selected them to.

Video Tutorial

Advanced users can convert PCL files into PDF with 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.