UnForm PCL and PostScript output is a binary print stream that must arrive at the printer unmodified. Unix spool systems often default to the assumption that print streamd are text and insert CR characters or try to add word wrapping or other text data control. This can cause unpredictable printing, often appearing as garbled print. Here are suggested spooler options for various Unix spoolers:
AIX
The pass thru option for AIX spoolers is documented on the IBM web site as:
-o-dp or -o "-d p" (Without quotes, there should not be any spaces.)
Note that this option is in addition to the "-d device" argument normally supplied to specify the printer device. Also, to force the spooler to NOT add a form feed to jobs, add -Z ! (upper-case Z followed by !).
Linux
If using lp, use the -oraw option.
If using lpr, use -l (lower case L), which is the standard lpr option for 'literal' output.
SCO5
The SCO spooler interface scripts generally accept "-oraw" to turn on raw mode:
lp -dXX -oraw
Note that if the spooler is using the "dumb" or "standard" interface script, this option is not supported. If this is the case, it is generally easiest to change the printer model to laserjet using the spooler administration tools.
Unixware
The Unixware spooler supports a -T option to specify the content type of a print job. The addition of -r to the -T will further force uninterpreted data (raw mode), though it typically isn't necessary:
lp -dxxx -T pcl [-r]
Raw Options for Commercial Spoolers
EasySpooler: -odatat=c
OM Plus: -T pcl-graphics or -T pcl-2