220-1101 Question 349
Single answerMaintenance: Replace ribbon, printhead, and paperA warehouse uses a dot-matrix printer to produce multipart shipping forms. Users report that the printer feeds paper correctly, but the text is very faint and some vertical columns of characters are missing on every page. You already confirmed the application settings are correct and the paper type matches the printer. Which maintenance action should the technician perform FIRST to most likely resolve the problem?
- A
Replace the ribbon cartridge
- B
Replace the printhead
- C
Reload the paper and adjust the tractor feed
- D
Clean the pickup rollers
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
This question tests practical maintenance of an impact printer, specifically a dot-matrix model used with multipart forms. In A+ Core 1, technicians are expected to recognize common printer maintenance tasks such as replacing paper, ribbons, and printheads. The key diagnostic detail here is not just faint print, but the consistent absence of vertical columns in characters. On a dot-matrix printer, that pattern typically means one or more printhead pins are no longer striking the ribbon and paper correctly. A worn ribbon usually causes overall light printing but does not normally create the same missing columns repeatedly. Best practice is to verify the symptom pattern, confirm paper and application settings, and then replace the failed consumable or component indicated by the symptom. Manufacturer service manuals for impact printers commonly distinguish faded print as a ribbon issue and missing dots or columns as a printhead-pin issue.
- A. Incorrect.
Replacing the ribbon cartridge can resolve uniformly faint output, which is a common maintenance task on impact printers. However, this scenario also includes missing vertical columns of characters on every page. That symptom points to failed or damaged printhead pins rather than only a worn ribbon. A weak ribbon alone does not typically cause consistent missing columns.
- B. Correct.
Replacing the printhead is correct because missing vertical columns of characters on a dot-matrix printer strongly indicate one or more failed printhead pins. The faint output can occur at the same time, but the repeated missing character columns are the more specific diagnostic clue. In impact printers, the printhead and ribbon are common field-replaceable maintenance items, and a damaged printhead is the best first action when pin failure symptoms are present.
- C. Incorrect.
Reloading the paper and adjusting the tractor feed would be appropriate if the issue involved skewed forms, paper jams, misalignment, or improper feeding of continuous paper. In this case, the paper is already feeding correctly, so paper handling is not the primary fault. It would not explain missing vertical columns of print.
- D. Incorrect.
Cleaning the pickup rollers is a valid maintenance task for printers with feed issues such as misfeeds or failure to pick up paper. The scenario explicitly states that paper feeds correctly. Pickup roller maintenance would not address faint text combined with consistent missing columns of characters.