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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is called to a site where a large…
A technician is called to a site where a large format plotter is producing prints with banding (horizontal lines of varying density). The plotter uses dye-sublimation ink. The technician has already cleaned the printhead and run a nozzle check, but the issue persists. What should the technician check next?
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
✓
Check the media advance rollers for wear or slippage.
Banding in dye-sublimation printers can be caused by inconsistent media advance, a failing printhead, or clogged ink lines. Since cleaning the printhead didn't help, the next step is to check the media advance mechanism, such as the rollers or encoder strip, which controls paper movement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Replace the ink cartridges.
Why it's wrong here
Replacing ink cartridges is an unlikely solution if a nozzle check confirms all nozzles are functioning correctly. Banding, in this scenario, typically indicates an issue with the consistent application of ink or the precise movement of the print media, rather than a problem with the ink supply itself or clogged nozzles. If the printhead can successfully lay down ink during a test pattern, the cartridges are providing ink as expected.
- ✓
Check the media advance rollers for wear or slippage.
Why this is correct
Worn or slipping media advance rollers are a common mechanical cause of banding in printers. These rollers are responsible for precisely moving the paper through the printer in small, consistent increments between printhead passes. If they are worn or slipping, the paper's movement becomes inconsistent, leading to either overlapping or gapped print lines, which visually manifests as horizontal bands of varying density or color across the printed output.
- ✗
Update the printer driver.
Why it's wrong here
Updating the printer driver is generally ineffective for resolving mechanical banding issues. Printer drivers primarily facilitate communication and data translation between the computer and the printer hardware. While a corrupted or outdated driver might cause software-related print errors like incorrect formatting or garbled text, it does not directly influence the physical mechanics of paper advancement or printhead movement, which are the root causes of banding.
- ✗
Replace the fuser assembly.
Why it's wrong here
Replacing the fuser assembly is an inappropriate troubleshooting step for a dye-sublimation printer. Fuser assemblies are integral components of laser printers, where they use heat and pressure to permanently fuse toner onto the paper. Dye-sublimation printers, however, operate by heating a ribbon to sublimate solid dyes directly onto specially coated paper, a process that does not involve or utilize a fuser assembly.
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