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220-1201 Practice Question: A user complains that their laser printer is…
A user complains that their laser printer is printing pages with a vertical black line down the left side of every page. The line appears consistently in the same position regardless of the document printed. What is the most likely cause?
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 toner cartridge's drum is scratched or has debris.
A vertical black line in a fixed position on laser printer output is often caused by a scratch or debris on the photosensitive drum, which picks up toner and transfers it to the paper. The drum is part of the toner cartridge in many printers. Other components like the fuser or transfer roller would cause different patterns.
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 fuser roller has a scratch.
Why it's wrong here
The fuser assembly is responsible for melting and pressing the toner onto the paper to make it permanent. A scratch on the fuser roller would typically manifest as a repeating defect at intervals corresponding to the roller's circumference, or as smearing due to uneven heat and pressure application. It would not produce a consistent, sharp vertical line from top to bottom of the page, which is characteristic of a defect in the image formation stage.
- ✓
The toner cartridge's drum is scratched or has debris.
Why this is correct
The photosensitive drum, located within the toner cartridge, is the primary component for forming the electrostatic image that attracts toner. If the drum surface is scratched or has debris adhering to it, that specific area will either continuously attract toner (scratch) or prevent toner from adhering (debris). This results in a consistent, sharp vertical line appearing on every printed page, as the defect directly impacts the image creation process before the toner is transferred.
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The paper feed rollers are dirty.
Why it's wrong here
Paper feed rollers are responsible for gripping and moving the paper through the printer's path from the tray to the output. If these rollers are dirty, worn, or misaligned, they lose their traction, leading to misfeeds, paper jams, or pages being skewed as they enter the printer. They do not interact with the toner or the image formation process, so they cannot cause a vertical line defect on the printed output.
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The printer driver is set to 'economy mode'.
Why it's wrong here
Economy mode, often referred to as draft mode, is a software setting within the printer driver designed to conserve toner by reducing the density or amount of toner applied to the page. While it results in lighter prints, it affects the overall print quality uniformly across the entire page. It is a software-controlled setting and cannot physically introduce a specific, localized defect like a sharp vertical line on the output.
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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.