PJL and PrintTickets

📌 Overview

This page was written in response to a customer question about PJL entries and describes how to access print tickets and parse PJL using IPJLParser.

Issue Description

A customer asked: "How can I find out if a PCL document has a duplex setting?".

💡 Solution

The short answer is that Mako will parse PJL (Printer Job Language) entries when loading a PCL or PCL/XL document using the appropriate Mako API (IPCLInput or IPCLXLInput), and automatically populate print tickets in the Mako DOM. The print tickets use keywords that adhere to the Microsoft Print Schema Specification. For example, the PJL entry @PJL SET DUPLEX = OFF would result in a print ticket entry of PageDuplex with a value of OneSided.

IDOMJobTk

Print tickets are stored in the Mako DOM as a tree structure, at the document and/or page level. They are accessed via the IDOMJobTk family of Mako APIs (IDOMJobTk, IDOMJobTkContent and IDOMJobTkNode).

Hint: To quickly get an understanding of how Mako will interpret PJL, use makoconverter (another Mako SDK example) to convert a PCL or PCL/XL file to XPS. There, the print ticket information is written as XML and therefore human-readable. Simply open the XPS with your favorite ZIP tool (here 7Zip is used) and look for a print ticket XML file:

Print ticket content

XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<psf:PrintTicket version="1"
xmlns:psk="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2003/08/printing/printschemakeywords"	xmlns:psf="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2003/08/printing/printschemaframework"	xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"	xmlns:mako="http://schemas.globalgraphics.com/mako/2018"	>
		<psf:ParameterInit name="psk:PageCopies">
			<psf:Value xsi:type="xsd:integer">25</psf:Value>
		</psf:ParameterInit>
		<psf:Feature name="mako:PageDuplex">
			<psf:Option name="psk:OneSided">
			</psf:Option>
		</psf:Feature>
		<psf:Feature name="psk:PageInputBin">
			<psf:Option name="mako:Tray3">
			</psf:Option>
		</psf:Feature>
		<psf:Feature name="psk:PageOutputBin">
			<psf:Option name="mako:Bin3">
			</psf:Option>
		</psf:Feature>
		<psf:Feature name="mako:PagePCLMediaType">
			<psf:Option name="mako:preprinted">
			</psf:Option>
		</psf:Feature>
</psf:PrintTicket>

IPJLParser

The PJL parser used internally by Mako is a public API (IPJLParser) and may be used directly by a Mako developer. This can speed up processing of document-level PJL because the stream can be closed as soon as PCL or PCL/XL content is encountered.

⌨️ Sample Code

How to do this is demonstrated by prnstream.cpp in the Mako simpleexamples, included in the SDK. A longer example, makopjltest, is provided at makopjltest.cpp . It demonstrates both techniques. In the output below right, the first result (initial two lines) is from parsing the PCL directly, while the remainder the result of reporting the document print tickets.

The example enumerates all the print ticket entries it finds in the Mako DOM. If you need to look for a specific entry, you can use IDOMJobTkNodePtr::findChild().

PCL input

TEXT

@PJL SET BINDING = LONGEDGE
@PJL SET DUPLEX = ON
@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PCL
Doc 1 Page 1
%-12345X
@PJL SET BINDING = SHORTEdge
@PJL SET COPIES = 5
@PJL SET DUPLEX = on
@PJL SET MANUALFEED = on
@PJL SET MEDIATYPE = blergh
@PJL SET ORIENTATION = LANDSCAPE
@PJL SET OUTBIN = extra
@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PCL
Doc 2 Page 1
%-12345X
@PJL SET BINDING = longedge
@PJL SET COPIES = 25
@PJL SET DUPLEX = on
@PJL SET MANUALFEED = off
@PJL SET MEDIATYPE = PREPRINTED
@PJL SET MEDIASOURCE = bypass
@PJL SET ORIENTATION = PORTRAIT
@PJL SET OUTBIN = extra
@PJL SET PAPER=execuTIVE
@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PCL
Doc 3 Page 1
%-12345X
@PJL SET DUPLEX=OFF
@PJL SET ORIENTATION = LaNdScApE
@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PCL
Doc 4 Page 1
%-12345X

makopjltest PJL

TEXT

TEST\printtickettestspjl.pcl: PCL Duplex mode: TwoSidedLongEdge
End of PJL

Document 1 in TEST\printtickettestspjl.pcl:
  Document-level print ticket:
    Parameter DocumentDuplex    Value TwoSidedLongEdge
  Page-level print ticket for page 1:
    Parameter PageCopies        Value 1
    Parameter PageDuplex        Value TwoSidedLongEdge
    Parameter PageInputBin      Value AutoSelect
    Parameter PageOutputBin     Value Bin1
    Parameter PagePCLMediaType  Value plain
Document 2 in TEST\printtickettestspjl.pcl:
  Document-level print ticket:
    Parameter DocumentDuplex    Value TwoSidedShortEdge
  Page-level print ticket for page 1:
    Parameter PageCopies        Value 5
    Parameter PageDuplex        Value TwoSidedShortEdge
    Parameter PageInputBin      Value Manual
    Parameter PageOutputBin     Value Bin3
    Parameter PagePCLMediaType  Value blergh
Document 3 in TEST\printtickettestspjl.pcl:
  Document-level print ticket:
    Parameter DocumentDuplex    Value TwoSidedShortEdge
  Page-level print ticket for page 1:
    Parameter PageCopies        Value 25
    Parameter PageDuplex        Value TwoSidedShortEdge
    Parameter PageInputBin      Value Tray3
    Parameter PageOutputBin     Value Bin3
    Parameter PagePCLMediaType  Value preprinted
Document 4 in TEST\printtickettestspjl.pcl:
  Document-level print ticket:
    ** None found **
  Page-level print ticket for page 1:
    Parameter PageCopies        Value 25
    Parameter PageDuplex        Value OneSided
    Parameter PageInputBin      Value Tray3
    Parameter PageOutputBin     Value Bin3
    Parameter PagePCLMediaType  Value preprinted

☑️ Conclusion

Understanding and utilizing PJL and PrintTickets in Mako is essential for managing print job settings effectively. By leveraging the IPJLParser and IDOMJobTk APIs, users can parse PJL entries and access print tickets within the Mako DOM, ensuring accurate print configurations. The examples provided demonstrate how to interpret and manipulate these settings, offering a practical approach to handling complex print jobs.

📚 Additional Resources

Here are some related links you may find useful.

If you need additional help, see our API documentation for detailed information on class/method usage, or raise a support ticket via our customer portal.