Submitted by Kim Egekjaer on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 00:00
Forums

Have you noticed the screens in InterForm400, where you select the printer type? These are the possible printer types:

  • IBM4019 IBM4029 IBM4039 HPII HPIID HPIIP
  • HPIII HPIIID HPIIIP HP4 HP4D HP4_PJL  
  • HP4D_PJL HP5C HP4500 HP4500D          
  • ZEBRA203 ZEBRA300 QLZPL203 IPL203 IPL300

When did you last use any of the IBM*, HPII* or even HPIII* printer types?

Personally I never have used the IBM4019, IBM4029 or IBM4039 printer types and I have not used HPII* nor HPIII* printer types this century. The HPII* printer types are used for printers, that are PCL4 compatible and the HPIII* printer types are used for PCL5 compatible printers. It is our experience, that no new printer is only PCL5 compatible but rather PCL5e (where the HP4* should be used) and also that PCL4 and PCL5 printers are actually no longer used.

That is why that the 2012 versions of InterForm400 will only include these printer types:

  • HP4 HP4D HP4_PJL HP4D_PJL
  • HP5C HP4500 HP4500D        
  • ZEBRA203 ZEBRA300 QLZPL203 IPL203 IPL300

When upgrading an older version of InterForm400, where these obsolete printer types (IBM*, HPII* or HPIII*) are referenced, then these references will be converted to the corresponding HP4* printer type.

If you should happen to know an installation where this change could be a problem, then feel free to contact me, so we can verify if these old printer types should be necessary.

You can use the link below as an aid to determine the PCL language(s) understood by a specific printer:
https://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas1b44a2cf4ba778d83862568250053649f

The PCL4 and PCL5, PCL5e languages are backwards compatible meaning, that a PCL5e compatible printer also will understand PCL5 and PCL4, so even if a customer is using the HPIII (or even HPII) printer type, then it may not be necessary.