Page description language - wikipedia Page description language In digital printing a page description language ( PDL ) is a computer language that describes the appearance of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap. An overlapping term is printer control language, which includes Hewlett - Packard 's Printer Command Language ( PCL ). PostScript is one of the most noted page description languages. The markup language adaptation of the PDL is the page description markup language. Page description languages are text ( human - readable ) or binary data streams, usually intermixed with text or graphics to be printed. They are distinct from graphics application programming interfaces ( APIs ) such as GDI and OpenGL that can be called by software to generate graphical output. Contents 1 List 2 See also 3 References 4 External links List Various page description languages exist : AFP, Advanced Function Presentation ( IBM ) Canon GARO, Graphic Arts language with Raster Operations ( for large format printers ), based on Hewlett - Packard PCL3GUI / RTL and CPCA job description language. Common Ground page definition language CPCL, Comtec Printer Control Language ( Zebra, Comtec ) DPL, Datamax Printer Language DTPL, Datamax Ticket Printer Language DVI, Device Independent, output from TeX E411, Emulation 411, for Ticketing and Flight Strip ( ATC ) systems ( by IER ) EPL, Eltron Programming Language Envoy, a page description language created by WordPerfect Corporation ESC / P, Epson Standard Code for Printers, simple language mainly used in dot matrix printers ESC / P2, an expanded version of ESC / P ESC / Page, Epson Standard Code for Page Printer, a page description language ( distinct from ESC / P ) used in a number of Epson laser printers, especially Japanese models ESC / POS, Epson Standard Code for POS printers FGL, Friendly Ghost Language, used by Boca Systems printers Fingerprint, a programming language for Intermec printers, Intermec Direct Protocol is subset of Fingerprint HP - GL and HP - GL / 2, geometric language introduced by Hewlett - Packard for pen plotters, still in use today for technical drawings Interpress ( Xerox ) IJPDS, Ink Jet Printer Data Stream ( by Kodak ) IPDS, Intelligent Printer Data Stream ( by IBM ) IPL, Intermec Printer Language, a programming language for Intermec printers KPDL, Kyocera Page Description Language LCDS / Metacode, a Xerox print stream format used in their older high - speed printers MODCA, Mixed Object Document Content Architecture ( IBM ) MTPL, Mannesmann Tally Printer Language PCL, Printer Command Language ( Hewlett - Packard ) PDF, Portable Document Format ( Adobe Systems ), now ISO 32000 PostScript ( Adobe Systems ) PPDS, Personal Printer Data Stream by IBM RPCS, Refined Printing Command Stream by Ricoh RTL ( Raster Transfer Language, also known as PCL3GUI ). Raster graphic command subset of Hewlett - Packard HP - GL / 2, simulary to PCL. Star Line Mode, variant of ESC / POS used by Star printers SPL, Samsung Printer Language, specifications are available at http://splix.sf.net/ SVG, an XML - based graphics description language primarily developed for the World Wide Web Canon SG Raster ( Swift Graphics Raster for large format printers ), based on Hewlett - Packard PCL3GUI / RTL and IVEC ( XML formatted job description language ) TSPL, TSC Printers programming language TTP, print language for former Swecoin ( now Zebra ) kiosk printers UFR ( Ultra Fast Rendering ), a proprietary language used by Canon XES, Xerox Escape Sequence XPS, XML Paper Specification introduced in Windows Vista ZJS, Zenographics ZjStream Page Description Language ZPL, Zebra Programming Language IGP / PGL, Printronix Graphics Language See also List of vector graphics markup languages Markup language Printer Job Language References Jump up ^ `` White Paper - Canon imagePROGRAF PAGE DESCRIPTION LANGUAGES ( PDLS ) '' ( PDF ). Canon. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Jump up ^ PDF format becomes ISO standard External links Undocumented Printing Ultimate Printer Manual Printer MIB Interpreters Language Families Host Printing Reference -- contains example for PPDS PPDS Escape codes ZjStream Reference Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Page_description_language&oldid=801209671 '' Categories : Page description languages Computer printers Computer printing Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Српски / srpski 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 10 : 09. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: a language used for describing the appearance of a printed page is called
Answer: page description language (PDL)