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CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) · chapter 15 of 15

Week 15: Printer chaos (season finale)

In this chapter Objectives 5.6

  1. Print quality problems
  2. Paper handling and hardware problems
  3. Queues and connectivity
  4. Practice questions
  5. Chapter recap

Objective 5.6

Print quality problems

Lines down the page

Lines down the printed pages (vertical streaks): on a laser, a scratched or dirty drum (imaging unit), dirty transfer roller, or debris on the fuser; on an inkjet, clogged nozzles (white lines/gaps) or a dirty encoder strip. Also check the scanner glass/ADF strip if lines appear only on copies.

Exam tip Lines on copies but not prints = dirty scanner glass or ADF strip.

Faded prints and speckling

Faded prints: low toner/ink, toner-save or draft mode, wrong paper type setting, or (laser) a failing transfer roller; on thermal, old paper or a worn element; on impact, a worn ribbon. Speckling on printed pages: loose toner inside the printer (leaking cartridge), a dirty drum or rollers. Clean with a toner vacuum and replace the leaking cartridge.

Exam tip Whole page light after "eco" settings = toner-save mode. Random dots = loose toner.

Double/echo images and garbled print

Double/echo images (ghosting): a faint repeat of the image farther down the page. On lasers: the drum is not fully cleaned or discharged, or the fuser is failing; replace the drum/toner or apply the maintenance kit. Garbled print (random characters, symbols, pages of code): wrong or corrupt driver (e.g. PCL vs. PostScript), a corrupt job, or a bad cable. Reinstall the correct driver and clear the queue.

Exam tip Pages of random symbols = driver. Ghost image repeating down the page = drum/fuser.

Incorrect page orientation

Incorrect page orientation: landscape documents print portrait (cut off) or the other way round. Check the app's page setup, the driver's orientation default, and print server defaults. A wrong default in the shared printer's properties affects everyone.

Exam tip Everyone's prints suddenly landscape = check the print server's default settings.

Objective 5.6

Paper handling and hardware problems

Paper jams, not feeding, multipage misfeed

Paper jams: wrong paper weight/type, damp or curled paper, torn scraps left inside, worn rollers. Pull paper gently in the direction of the paper path. Paper not feeding: worn or dirty pickup roller, tray not seated, paper guides too tight. Multipage misfeed (several sheets at once): worn separation pad, humid or static paper, overfilled tray: fan the paper and replace the pad/rollers (maintenance kit).

Exam tip Picks up nothing = pickup roller. Picks up several = separation pad. Both are in the maintenance kit.

Grinding noise

A grinding noise comes from gears: a stripped or broken gear, a failing fuser drive, or something stuck in the paper path (a paper clip, a label). Power off, open and inspect for debris, then replace the worn gear or fuser assembly. Don't keep printing: it will chew up more parts.

Exam tip Grinding + jams in the same spot = check that area's gears and rollers.

Check yourself 1Pages from the HQ laser printer are covered in small random toner dots, and there is loose toner inside the printer. What is the BEST fix?

  1. Vacuum it and replace the leaking cartridge
  2. Turn off the toner-save mode in the driver
  3. Reinstall the PCL driver and clear the queue
  4. Replace the separation pad and pickup roller
Show the answer

Answer: A. Vacuum it and replace the leaking cartridge

Speckling means loose toner is inside the printer, usually from a leaking cartridge. Clean it out with a toner vacuum and replace the cartridge.

Finishing issues: staple jams and hole punch

The finisher staples, punches and folds. Staple jams: wrong staple cartridge, too many sheets for the stapler limit, or a bent staple stuck in the head; open the finisher, clear the jam, reseat the cartridge. Hole punch issues: a full punch waste bin, holes in the wrong place (paper size/orientation setting), or the hole punch option not enabled in the driver.

Exam tip Hole punch stops working mid-job? Empty the chad (punch waste) box.

Tray not recognized

Tray not recognized: the tray is not fully seated, a sensor or connector is dirty/damaged, or the driver's installable options don't list the add-on tray (so the PC never offers it). Reseat the tray, check the device's panel shows it, then update the driver's device settings or reinstall the driver.

Exam tip Panel sees Tray 3 but the PC doesn't offer it = update the driver's installable options.

Objective 5.6

Queues and connectivity

Multiple prints pending and frozen print queue

Multiple prints pending in queue: jobs stack up because the printer is offline, paused, out of paper, or one job at the top is stuck. A frozen print queue won't delete or move. Fix: cancel jobs; if stuck, restart the Print Spooler service (services.msc or net stop/start spooler), clearing the spool folder if needed.

C:\> net stop spooler
The Print Spooler service was
stopped successfully.
C:\> cd C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
C:\...\PRINTERS> del /q *
C:\...\PRINTERS> net start spooler
The Print Spooler service was
started successfully.

Exam tip Queue stuck and jobs won't delete = restart the Print Spooler service.

Connectivity issues

Connectivity issues: printer offline or unreachable. Print a configuration page for its IP. Check the cable/link lights, Wi-Fi association, and whether its DHCP address changed (use a reservation or static IP). Ping the printer, check the port in the driver (Standard TCP/IP port points to the right IP), and for USB, try another cable/port.

Exam tip Printer works from the panel but not from PCs after a power cut = its IP changed.

Check yourself 2A laser printer prints pages where a faint copy of the top of the page repeats lower down. Which part is MOST likely at fault?

  1. Pickup roller
  2. Separation pad
  3. Imaging drum
  4. Print Spooler service
Show the answer

Answer: C. Imaging drum

Ghosting means the drum is not fully cleaned/discharged (or the fuser is failing), so the image repeats down the page.

Practice questions

Answer in your head, then open the answer. Ranger's Help Desk has 436 questions like these for A+ Core 1, with mock exams.

Question 1Every page from a laser printer has a thin vertical black line in the same place. What should the technician replace FIRST?

  1. The toner cartridge and drum
  2. The printer's network cable
  3. The print driver on the server
  4. The paper tray and its guides
Show the answer

Answer: A. The toner cartridge and drum

A scratch or debris on the imaging drum prints a line in the same place on each page. In many printers the drum is part of the toner cartridge.

Question 2An inkjet printer prints white lines across text and photos. What should the technician try FIRST?

  1. Install a PostScript driver instead of PCL
  2. Replace the fuser assembly
  3. Run the printhead cleaning routine
  4. Replace the ribbon cartridge
Show the answer

Answer: C. Run the printhead cleaning routine

Clogged nozzles skip ink and leave lines. The built-in head cleaning usually clears them.

Question 3A new printer prints pages of random symbols for every job from one PC. Other PCs print fine. What is the MOST likely cause?

  1. The toner cartridge is almost empty
  2. The PC has the wrong print driver
  3. The fuser is failing to heat fully
  4. The paper in the tray is damp
Show the answer

Answer: B. The PC has the wrong print driver

Garbled print usually means the driver is wrong for the printer, for example a PCL driver sent to a PostScript-only device.

Question 4A laser printer jams often. The user loads thick card stock in the main tray. What should the technician recommend?

  1. Increase the print density setting
  2. Install a PostScript driver on the PC
  3. Replace the printer's network cable
  4. Use paper within the weight specs
Show the answer

Answer: D. Use paper within the weight specs

Paper that is too heavy, damp or curled is a common cause of jams. Use supported media or the manual feed path for heavy stock.

Question 5A laser printer's output has become light and faded across the whole page. What should the technician check FIRST?

  1. The print queue
  2. The toner level
  3. The paper orientation
  4. The network cable
Show the answer

Answer: B. The toner level

Faded prints often mean low toner. Economy/toner-save mode or a low density setting can also cause it.

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