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220-1201 Practice Question: A small office has an inkjet printer that is…
A small office has an inkjet printer that is printing blank pages even though the ink cartridges are full and properly installed. What is the most likely cause of this problem?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The printhead is clogged
When an inkjet printer prints blank pages despite full cartridges, the printhead nozzles are often clogged. Ink can dry and block the tiny nozzles, preventing ink from reaching the paper. Running the printer's cleaning cycle or manually cleaning the printhead usually resolves the issue.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The printer driver is corrupted
Why it's wrong here
A corrupted printer driver typically manifests as communication errors between the operating system and the printer, garbled or incomplete output, or the inability to initiate a print job at all. While it can prevent printing, it rarely results in a completely blank page being ejected without any error message, as the driver's role is to correctly interpret and send print commands. If the driver were corrupted, the printer would likely report an error or simply not respond to the print command.
- ✓
The printhead is clogged
Why this is correct
A clogged printhead is a common issue in inkjet printers where dried ink or debris obstructs the tiny nozzles responsible for ejecting ink onto the paper. When the nozzles are blocked, the printer attempts to print, but no ink can pass through, leading to a completely blank page being outputted, even if the ink cartridges are full. This specific symptom directly points to a physical obstruction in the ink delivery system.
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The paper type setting is wrong
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect paper type settings primarily affect print quality, such as causing smudging, faded colors, or improper ink saturation, because the printer adjusts ink volume, drying time, and roller pressure based on the selected media. However, a wrong paper type setting does not prevent ink from being ejected from the nozzles entirely. The printer would still attempt to apply ink according to the print job, just potentially with suboptimal results, not a completely blank page.
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The USB cable is faulty
Why it's wrong here
A faulty USB cable would disrupt the data communication pathway between the computer and the printer. This typically results in the printer not being detected by the computer, a "printer offline" status, or a communication error message preventing any print job from starting. It would not allow a print job to be sent successfully to the printer, processed, and then result in a blank page being ejected without any prior error indication.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.