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Typeface Selection
Differences
With the introduction of the HP LaserJet IID printer,
Hewlett-Packard expanded the typeface value field (in the
font header) from a one-byte to a two-byte value field, thus
expanding the typeface range from 0-255 to 0-32767. This
expansion allows for additional typefaces.
Prior to the HP LaserJet IID printer, typeface values used a
single byte (8-bits for a range of 0-255) for font selection.
This value, referred to as the typeface base value, was used
to identify fonts for selection. With the addition of the
second byte in the typeface value field, one bit was added to
the typeface base value range, increasing it from 8 bits to
9 bits (for a range of 0-511). This allows a greater range for
typeface base value selection.
In addition to expanding the typeface base value, two other
values were included in the two-byte typeface value:
vendor number and vendor version. The vendor
number identifies the font vendor and the vendor version
identifies the version of the font. These two values are for a
vendor to create an updated version of the typeface. The
three values together represent the typeface family
value. Refer to the PCL 5 Printer Language Technical
Reference Manual Chapter 11,“Font Creation - Typeface
Family,” for a more complete description of this two-byte
typeface family value.
Note With the introduction of the HP LaserJet 4 printer, HP
redefined the typeface field again, this time eliminating the
vendor version identifier and expanding the typeface family
to encompass the 12 least significant bits (bits 11-0) of this
16-bit field (see the field description for “Typeface” in
Chapter 11).
3-12 Fonts