Fix PCL XL Error in HP printers on Windows 11

Although we live in the digital world, we still use printers every day. An office without a printer is unimaginable. Some people are seeing an error with PCL XL drivers while printing documents. If you are seeing the PCL XL error in Windows 11/10, we have a few solutions that can help you fix it.

What is PCL XL driver?

Printer Command Language (PCL) is developed by HP for its inkjet printers. PCL 6 is also known as PCL XL. PCL XL is a powerful driver for inkjet printers. PCL 6 or PCL XL is an object-oriented Page Description Language (PDL) that is optimized for printing from GUI interfaces such as Windows and compressed to optimize throughput.

What causes PCL XL error in HP printer?

The possible reasons for the PCL XL error message are as follows:

Printer driver corruption
The document containing both image and text
Unsupported font

Let’s see how we can fix the issue.

How to fix PCL XL Error in Windows 11/10?

If you are seeing the PCL XL error in HP Printers Windows 11/10, you can fix it in the following ways.

Rename the GPD files related to the printer
Adjust Printing Preferences
Update the Printer driver
Uninstall and fresh install the printer driver
Run Printer Troubleshooter

Let’s get into the details of each method and fix the issue.

1] Rename the GPD files related to the printer

The PCL XL error on Windows PC can be fixed by renaming the .gpd files on your PC. To do so, open Explorer on your PC and navigate to the following path.

C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3

In that folder, sort files by Type and rename all the .gpd files with whatever name you want. This might fix the issue and let you use the printer without an issue.

2] Adjust Printing Preferences

If the printer is not configured properly, it may not support all font types. You need to configure it so that it supports all which will help you get rid of the PCL XL error.

Open Control Panel on your PC and change the view to Small Icons. Click on Devices and Printers. You will see the list of available printers on your device. Right-click on the printer which is causing the PCL XL error and select Printing preferences. In the Printing preferences popup, click on the Advanced tab.

Then, set TrueType Font to Download as Softfont, and set Send True Type as Bitmap to Enabled.

Click on Apply and then OK.

See if it has resolved the issue.

3] Update the Printer driver

The Printer driver on your PC might be outdated or corrupted. You need to update the driver to the latest version to resolve the issue. You can update the printer driver using the following ways.