Question

Difficulty: MediumPrinter and Multifunction Device Issues

An IT support specialist is inspecting a dot-matrix impact printer used in a shipping warehouse. Workers report that while multi-part carbon forms are printing, a thin, continuous horizontal white gap appears across every row of text on the printed page. Which of the following hardware components is most likely defective?

  1. A bent or broken pin within the printhead assemblyAnswer
  2. B
    A depleted or misaligned fabric ink ribbon
  3. C
    A slipping platen roller feed mechanism
  4. D
    A corrupted print driver font cache

Answer

A bent or broken pin within the printhead assembly
In a dot-matrix impact printer, the printhead contains a matrix of small metal pins that strike an inked ribbon to form text and images on paper. When one pin is broken or stuck inside the printhead assembly, it leaves a continuous horizontal white blank space through every line of printed text.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the observed printing defect symptom.
Identified a continuous horizontal white line cutting through printed characters on a dot-matrix impact printer.
Impact printers use a grid of solenoid-actuated pins to strike the ribbon against the paper.
2
Correlate printer mechanics with the missing print artifact.
A specific pin in the vertical column array is failing to actuate.
If one pin is damaged, stuck, or broken, that specific row position remains unprinted across every line of text.

Key Concept

Impact Printer Printhead Pin Failure
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question