Question 1

A colleague asks your advice on purchasing a new printer for his home. He has a SOHO router that provides network access throughout the house, and he wants anyone with the proper credentials to be able to connect to and print to the printer. He is placing the printer in a different room from the router. For the easiest installation, which printer connection do you recommend the printer have built-in?

Accepted Answer

An 802.11x (wireless Ethernet) connection will provide for the easiest installation in this SOHO network.
Key Takeaway: With an 802.11x connection built-in, the printer can easily connect to the user's preexisting wireless network, providing by the SOHO router. This setup would provide access to the printer for anyone on the network. Although Bluetooth also provides wireless access, it requires a specific setup and does not work within a large range. Wired Ethernet could work, but would require some wiring. A printer server would require a dedicated computer or extra piece of hardware, and although these can be built-into SOHO routers, the extra cord makes the installation more cumbersome in this instance.

Question 2

All of the following are benefits to connecting a printer through a network connection over a USB connection, except:

Accepted Answer

All of the above are benefits to connecting a printer through a network connection rather than a USB connection except that it is the only way to share the printer with others in the organization.
Key Takeaway: By connecting the printer through a Network connection, you require that either each computer connect to the printer through a virtual IP-Port (mapping a printer port to an IP address) or that the printer is mapped to a server, through which others connect to the system; hence, users can connect to the printer as though it were local and are not necessarily dependent on the up-time of a server. Because you can place the computer wherever there is a drop, you provide the organization with more flexibility in physical placement. Since you can also share a printer connected through a USB connection, that is not the "incorrect" answer.

Question 3

A client using a Point-of-sale (POS) system complains that their thermal printer is producing a dark and smudged print. Which of the following is a good first troubleshooting step?

Accepted Answer

A good first troubleshooting step for a dark, smudged print from a thermal printer is to wipe clean the heating element.
Key Takeaway: If the thermal element does not make proper contact with the specially coated paper, the image will come out incorrectly. The most likely culprit of this is that the heating element is dirty. Although there is a spring in thermal printers, replacing it is not a first troubleshooting step

Question 4

A user complains that whenever they print, they receipt garbled characters as output. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the problem?

Accepted Answer

Corrupted drives is the most likely cause of garbled characters as output.
Key Takeaway: Corrupted drivers can result in garbled characters because the computer cannot properly translate the page images to the printer. A bad printer connection would likely result in no printing at all, as would incorrect permissions. Low memory is usually only an issue with large-sized graphic images, and usually slows down the printer before stopping it.

Question 5

A user recently purchased a new computer and now complains that their printer does not function properly. Which of the following is the FIRST thing you should check?

Accepted Answer

When troubleshooting an older printer on a new computer, the first thing you should check is printer compatibility.
Key Takeaway: Not all printers work with all computers and OSes. You should check the printer drivers, calibration, and connection methods when connecting to a new computer, but first and foremost, you need to determine whether or not the printer is even compatible with your new system.

Question 6

A laser printer is outputting documents that are faint and hard to read. Which of the following consumables likely needs to be replaced?

Accepted Answer

If a laser printer is outputting documents that are faint and hard to read, the toner likely needs to be replaced.
Key Takeaway: Laser printers do not use ink, but rather use toner, which is fused onto paper by a process using the laser and the fuser. Although fusers and rollers are consumable (meaning they are items that can be replaced on the laser printer), they would not be the likely cause of faint or light documents.

Question 7

An old printer needs to be able to connect to a new PC. The printer needs a parallel port, but the new PC does not have one. What are some possible solutions to this problem? Select all that apply.

Accepted Answer

A PCI parallel card or a USB-to-Parallel cable would resolve the issue.
Key Takeaway: While a PCI Express parallel card or a USB-to-parallel cable would solve your problem, a newer printer would take advantage of new technology options.

Question 8

A user calls the help desk complaining that they are no longer able to print to the closest network printer. After talking with the user, you learn that although she has the same office location, she has recently switched from the marketing to accounting departments. Which of the following best describes the problem?

Accepted Answer

The user is not able to print to the closest network printer due to a problem with printer permissions.
Key Takeaway: Since the user recently switched from the marketing to accounting departments, it is likely that her account permissions have changed. As a result, her access to some file and printer resources is now different. Printer sharing allows multiple users to access a printer over the network, but is not responsible for determining who is allowed access.

Question 9

You are troubleshooting a laser printer in the office. Users are complaining that while the printer seems to be functioning, the output is smearing easily. Which laser printer component is malfunctioning?

Accepted Answer

If printer output is easily smearing on a laser printer, most likely the fuser assembly is malfunctioning.
Key Takeaway: The fuser assembly is responsible for fusing the toner to the paper by passing it through a heating element that can reach 400 degree F. If this component is not functioning properly, the toner will easily smudge off the paper. If the transfer corona wire or laser were faulty, there would be no image at all, and a failure in the print drum would in paper jams and vertical/horizontal lines.

Question 10

Several print jobs are not printing in the Customer Service department. The group print to a single printer shared from a Window's XP Professional computer. How do you see if the print jobs are still in the printer queue?

Accepted Answer

Opening the Printers and Faxes box on the local computer or remote computers will display a list of print jobs.
Key Takeaway: From the Printers and Faxes dialog box you can pause printing or delete one or more print jobs.

Question 11

While trying to repair a printer, you determine you need to open the printer. What is the primary danger in opening a printer?

Accepted Answer

The fuser roller can be hot enough to burn you if the printer was just running.
Key Takeaway: It is best to unplug the printer and let the unit cool before opening it.

Question 12

Configuring your company's printer and print-server settings, you would like to make sure certain managers receive access to printer resources ahead of others in the organization. What feature would you primarily use to configure this?

Accepted Answer

You would primarily use printer priority to ensure certain managers in your organization received priority access to printer resources.
Key Takeaway: To use printer priority to provide access to certain individuals, create two software printers for one hardware printer, providing a higher priority to one of the printers. Give only the manager permissions to use the higher-priority printer. Although this process may involve some printer pooling, printer sharing, or printer permissions, the main feature whereby this works is printer priority.

Question 13

The local print spooler has shut down due to an error. To start it again from the command line, which of the following commands would you use?

Accepted Answer

To start the print spooler from the command line use the command NET START SPOOLER.
Key Takeaway: The NET command is used to update, fix, and view network settings. Since the print spooler is a network service in the broad sense of the word (meaning it deals with communication), the "net" command makes sense. Adding the option START after NET asks the computer to start a service. The name of that service is SPOOLER. The other options provide an incorrect syntax.

Question 14

You receive a call from two separate individuals from the marketing department, each complaining that the network printer is not functioning. You view the printer's jobs and notice a long list of print jobs. The top print job status says "printing" and has a size of 200MB. What is most likely the problem?

Accepted Answer

The printer has low memory in relation to the size of files being printed, and therefore users are complaining their jobs will not print.
Key Takeaway: The printer's low memory means it is not able to easily handle large-size jobs, and is getting stuck trying to print the top job. Although in time this job would likely print, deleting it from the queue will temporarily solve the problem, and upgrading the printers RAM will offer a more long-term solution. The top print job may have also become corrupted and the drivers may need to be updates, but the printer memory is a much more likely solution. There is no printer memory limit imposed by Windows.

Question 15

Regarding printers, which of the following factors can affect the occurrence of paper jams (select all that apply)?

Accepted Answer

Paper type, humidity, and an overheated fusing assembly are all factors contributing to the occurrence of paper jams.
Key Takeaway: Paper that is too thick or too think can cause the paper to jam. Therefore, humidity can also cause pages to stick together because it makes paper thicker than it normally would be. If the fusing assembly has overheated, this can also cause paper jams--make sure the printer is in a well-ventilated area. Printer memory has no effect on paper jams.

Question 16

A colleague of yours is seeking advice on purchasing replacement ink cartridges for his inkjet printer. He saw a company advertising refillable ink cartridges for much cheaper than the manufacturer charges, and he is asking for your advice on these. What do you tell him?

Accepted Answer

Refillable ink cartridges should not be used because print-heads are built-into the cartridges.
Key Takeaway: Inkjet printers heat the ink, forcing it to bubble through print-heads onto the paper. Because print-heads are built-into the print cartridges, these heads can easily get clogged if used more than once. Hence, buying refillable ink cartridges may end up costing you more than buying the manufacturer ones.

Question 17

Which of the following printer types require specially treated paper?

Accepted Answer

Thermal printers require the use of specially treated paper.
Key Takeaway: Since thermal printers work by heating coated thermal paper, they require this specially treated paper to function. Laser and Impact printers may require certain types of paper, but it has not been treated. Thermal inkjet printers are the most common type of personal inkjet printer, and although the name is similar, it operated quite differently from a thermal printer and do not require specially treated paper.

Quiz 4: Printers