Printer Drivers for HP 2100

["William E. Shawcross" wshawcross@xxxxxxxx]

Yesterday I received my new HP 2100 printer and have been playing
with it and XyWrite III+ (3.57), which runs as a DOS application
under Windows 98SE. The model I got was the network version (the
TN), but you can also do a parallel port hookup in addition, which is
what you need for a DOS application. It also has PostScript 2
emulation, as does the 2100M.

The manual is pretty and pretty useless. Nowhere is Printer Control
Language mentioned. I was despairing of using the PostScript feature
until I got the idea of printing a PostScript job to file using their
PostScript driver and then looking at the code it produced. The file
began with the following (what the numbers signify I haven't a clue,
but it works...).

There are two special characters you'll have to generate in XyWrite
by holding down the Ctl & Alt keys (as I recall) and typing in the
numbers for them. The first is a right pointing solid triangle
representing an ASCII 16, which is represented by [16] below --
don't type the brackets! -- and three ASCII 10's which look sorta
like a door with a knob in the middle.

[16]%-12345X@PJL JOB[10]@PJL SET RESOLUTION = 1200[10]@PJL ENTER
LANGUAGE = POSTSCRIPT[10][Return]

I saved this as PS-SETUP and from the command line you type
COPY PS-SETUP LPT1:[Return] or to whichever LPT you are
using. You can then TY your PostScript document to the printer
using the standard Apple LaserWriter Plus driver. Works just
fine.

I also tried the 'LaserJet II with Cartridges' driver with the printer
in
the PCL mode (its default). It works, though the PT values point
to different fonts and so the results certainly look different! HP
claims the correct escape codes for each font can be found in their
fonts utility software, though at first glance it wasn't to be seen. If

all else fails, experiment will reveal all. Of course making the
character width tables will be the tedious. Also, I tried the Windows
driver for the LaserJet II and it works just fine.

I'll report anything else pertinent that shows up.

Bill Shawcross