Which driver should I install?

In most office environments, there are three printer driver languages which are most commonly used: PCL, PostScript and UFR II. Here, we will try to help you understand the differences between the three, so that you can make an informed decision on which driver best suits your needs.
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  • Printer Control Language, or PCL, is a printer driver language which is device dependent. This means that some of the printed data, such as fonts or graphics, are created by the printer, instead of the computer. This allows the computer to process the print job quickly, but also means that the output may vary between devices, as they may perform the tasks differently.


    PCL drivers are typically supported by many different operating systems, allowing a printer to work in many different environments, however, PCL is not supported by Mac devices.


    Our Generic Plus PCL drivers have been created to support various Canon devices, meaning you can use the same driver for all supported printer models by changing the settings for the printing port and device configuration profile.

  • PostScript, or PS, is a printer driver language commonly used in Mac environments and has been designed to provide a high-quality colour output. This is achieved by efficiently translating a computer’s RGB (Red-Green-Blue) values into the CMYK (Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black) values used by your device.


    In contrast to PCL, PostScript is a device independent printer language. This means that all the print data processing is completed on the computer before sending the print job to the printer. Generally, print jobs are not as efficient as they would be by using a PCL driver, however, the output is more consistent from printer to printer, as there is no variation in how data has been processed.


    PostScript drivers have an accompanying PPD (PostScript Printer Description) file, which contains information about the capabilities and restrictions of your device.


    As with our PCL drivers, we have created the Generic Plus PS3 drivers to work on various Canon devices, allowing full functionality for all supported models, using the same driver.

  • Ultra Fast Rendering (UFR) II is a Canon proprietary printer driver language, which processes print jobs quickly by compressing the print data before sending it to the device. The data processing tasks are divided between the computer and the printing device, allowing for faster printing.


    The quick processing achieved using UFR II printer drivers makes it ideal for printing office files and documents, however, UFR II does not offer the same high-quality colour output that a PostScript driver provides.


    As with PCL and PS, our Generic Plus UFR II drivers have been created to support various Canon devices, meaning you can use the same driver for all supported printer models by changing the settings for the printing port and device configuration profile.

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