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220-1201 Practice Question: That their laser printer prints fine from…
A user reports that their laser printer prints fine from Windows, but when they print from a macOS device, the output is garbled with random characters. Both devices are on the same network. 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 macOS printer driver is incorrect
Garbled output from one OS but not another typically indicates a driver or PPD issue. macOS uses PostScript Printer Description (PPD) files for laser printers, and an incorrect or missing PPD can cause communication errors. Installing the correct driver for macOS resolves the problem.
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The printer's firmware is outdated
Why it's wrong here
Firmware is the low-level software embedded in the printer's hardware that controls its fundamental operations. An outdated or corrupted firmware version would typically manifest as general printing errors, performance degradation, or system crashes affecting all print jobs, irrespective of the originating operating system. Since only macOS jobs are affected, the issue is unlikely to be at this universal hardware control level.
- ✗
The network cable is faulty
Why it's wrong here
A faulty network cable primarily disrupts the physical layer of network communication, leading to symptoms such as intermittent connectivity, complete loss of network access for the printer, or jobs failing to reach the printer at all. It would not selectively corrupt print data originating solely from macOS while allowing other operating systems to print correctly. The issue points to data interpretation rather than data transmission integrity.
- ✓
The macOS printer driver is incorrect
Why this is correct
The macOS printer driver acts as a crucial interpreter, translating the operating system's generic print commands into the specific printer command language (e.g., PCL, PostScript) that the laser printer understands. If the installed macOS driver or its associated PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file is incorrect or corrupted, it will generate print data that the printer cannot properly process. This misinterpretation results in garbled text or incorrect formatting specifically when printing from macOS, while other OSes with correct drivers print normally.
- ✗
The printer is set to the wrong emulation mode
Why it's wrong here
A printer's emulation mode dictates which specific printer command language it is configured to interpret, such as PCL or PostScript. If the printer itself is manually set to an incorrect emulation mode, it would misinterpret all incoming print jobs that do not match that specific language, regardless of the originating operating system. The problem being isolated to macOS print jobs indicates that the issue lies with how macOS is generating the print data, not the printer's universal interpretation setting.
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Mobile Device Types and Features
Key term
Laser printer
A laser printer is a high-speed, high-volume output device that uses a laser beam and toner to produce precise text and graphics on paper.
Key term
PostScript
PostScript is a page description language used by printers and other output devices to render text and graphics with high precision.
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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.