GDIcompatible

GDI-compatible refers to software or hardware that can interoperate with the Graphics Device Interface (GDI), a core Windows API system used to render graphics and text to output devices such as displays and printers. The label describes compatibility with GDI, either through standard GDI calls or by accepting page descriptions produced by GDI for output.

In printing, GDI-compatible often referred to printers that process graphics on the host computer using Windows GDI and send the final bitmap or simple commands to the printer, instead of the printer interpreting a page description language. This mode reduces driver complexity but shifts processing load to the PC and network.

Manufacturers sometimes advertised devices as GDI-compatible to indicate compatibility with Windows drivers and that a GDI-based driver can render content without implementing an extensive page description language (PDL). However, true GDI-based printing relies on both the host application and the printer driver supporting the necessary GDI features.

Today, GDI-based printing is less common in favor of printers that perform page description internally using PostScript, PCL, or native rasterization. Windows modern printing architectures integrate GDI with other technologies and drivers, but the market has shifted toward device-side processing for performance.

Related topics include the Graphics Device Interface, printer drivers, PostScript, and GDI+.