PCL/Simple version 1.00
=======================

NAME

    PCL::Simple - Create PCL for printing plain text files

SYNOPSIS

      use PCL::Simple qw( PCL_pre PCL_post );

      open PLAIN,  '<plain_file.txt'         or die;
      open SNAZZY, '>ready_for_printing.txt' or die;

      print SNAZZY PCL_pre( -w => 132, -lpp => 66 );
      print SNAZZY while (<PLAIN>);
      print SNAZZY PCL_post;

      close PLAIN;
      close SNAZZY;

DESCRIPTION

    PCL::Simple will provide PCL strings that cause your printer to print
    a plain text file with *exactly* the right font -- i.e. the exact font
    needed to fill the page with as many fixed width characters across
    and down as you specify.

    In addition to providing for your desired width and height layout, the
    provided PCL strings will also cause the printer to honor your other
    desires regarding paper size, paper orientation, sides printed, and
    number of copies.

USAGE

    Two functions are exportable: PCL_pre and PCL_post.

    PCL_post takes no parameters, it simply returns a string containing the
    "Printer Reset Command" and "Universal Exit Language Command" as
    specified by PCL documentation. This string is meant for appending to
    the end of your plain text document.

    PCL_pre takes a list or an href of key value pairs and returns a PCL
    string for insertion at the beginning of your plain text document.
    PCL_pre Paramaters are:

    "-w"
      Width (Required)

    "-lpp"
      Lines Per Page (Required)

    "-ms"
      Media Size defaults to letter. Valid values are: executive, letter,
      legal, ledger, a4, a3, monarch, com-10, d1, c5, b5

    "-o"
      Orientation defaults to portrait. Valid values are: landscape,
      portrait.

    "-s"
      Sides defaults to 0. Valid values are: 0 (Single), 1 (Double Long), 2
      (Double Short)

    "-c"
      Copies defaults to 1.

INSTALLATION

To install this module type the following:

   perl Makefile.PL
   make
   make test
   make install

DEPENDENCIES

  None

BUGS

  PCL_pre will often slightly undersize the font for landscape orientations,
  such that one extra character might fit the page.  This means the printed
  page will have a *slightly* larger right margin than left.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE

Copyright (C) 2002 Phil R Lawrence.  All rights reserved.

This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

