Question: I need to retire 15 years old system and preserve all data. It can only print documents into specific printer HP LaserJet 5. I can print documents into PCL files and looking for ways to convert all these PCL files to PDFs programmatically. Preferably in C#. Can anybody recommend good library or command line tool? Preferably free 😉
Answer: According to your question, you can have a try of VeryPDF PCL Converter SDK. It is a software development kit that can allows software programmers to quickly integrate PCL converter component in other applications programmed in Visual C++, Visual Basic, etc. development environments. This PCL converter can convert print files (PX3, PXL and PCL) to PDF, PS, JPG, BMP, TIF, etc. and make different settings for output file.
SDK:
SDK (Software Development Kit) is a software development package that enables a programmer to develop a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform for a specific platform.
Features of VeryPDF PCL Converter SDK:
- Support multiple operating systems such as Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2008 R2 – 32 and 64 Bit and so on.
- Support various programming languages including C#, VB .NET, MS Visual Basic, Borland Delphi, VBA (MS Office products such as Access) and C++ via COM, C and C++ via native C.
- Convert laser printer output files (PCL, PXL, and PX3) to PDF, PS, TIF/TIFF, JPG/JPEG, PCX and BMP.
- Support LaserJet PCL including PCL5e, PCL5c and HP-PCL.
- Allow software programmers to integrate the codes and APIs of the program into other applications.
- Support to be called by any programming or scripting languages
Free download VeryPDF PCL Converter SDK and unzip it to a folder on your computer.
The following examples shows you how to use it in Visual C++ and Visual Basic.
Visual C++:
#include
#include
#include
__declspec(dllexport)
int WINAPI VeryPDFPCLConverter(const char *lpCmd);
void main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
if(argc < 3)
return;
char szCmd[2048] = {0};
for (int i = 1; i < argc; i++)
{
strcat(szCmd, "\"");
strcat(szCmd, argv[i]);
strcat(szCmd, "\" ");
}
printf("%s\n", szCmd);
VeryPDFPCLConverter(szCmd);
}
Visual Basic:
VERSION 5.00
Begin VB.Form Form1
Caption = "Form1"
ClientHeight = 3090
ClientLeft = 60
ClientTop = 450
ClientWidth = 4680
LinkTopic = "Form1"
ScaleHeight = 3090
ScaleWidth = 4680
StartUpPosition = 3 'Windows Default
Begin VB.CommandButton PCL2PDF
Caption = "Convert PCL file to PDF file"
Height = 1095
Left = 1080
TabIndex = 0
Top = 840
Width = 2415
End
End
Attribute VB_Name = "Form1"
Attribute VB_GlobalNameSpace = False
Attribute VB_Creatable = False
Attribute VB_PredeclaredId = True
Attribute VB_Exposed = False
Private Declare Function VeryPDFPCLConverter Lib "pcltoolsdk.dll" (ByVal strCommandLine As String) As Long
Private Sub PCL2PDF_Click()
Dim nRet As Long
Dim strCmd As String
Dim strInPCL As String
Dim strOutPDF As String
strInPCL = App.Path & "\test.pcl"
strOutPDF = App.Path & "\test.pcl.pdf"
strCmd = "-$ XXXXXXXXXXXXX "
strCmd = strCmd & " """ & strInPCL & """"
strCmd = strCmd & " """ & strOutPDF & """"
nRet = VeryPDFPCLConverter(strCmd)
'MsgBox (Str(nRet))
End Sub
During your use, if you have any problem, please leave your comments here. If want to get full version of the SDK package, you can buy VeryPDF PCL Converter SDK here.