Question 1
Q1A field technician is diagnosing a multifunction laser printer at a medical office that produces a consistent horizontal streak across all scanned documents. When staff members print documents from computers or send faxes, the output quality appears normal with no artifacts. Which of the following components should the technician inspect first to resolve this scanning-specific issue?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
A horizontal streak that appears only on scanned documents but not on printed or faxed output indicates an issue with the scanning mechanism specifically. The ADF glass (automatic document feeder glass) is the scanning surface that documents pass over during the scanning process. Debris, scratches, or contamination on this glass surface will create consistent horizontal streaks across all scanned documents. Since printing and faxing functions work normally, this confirms the issue is isolated to the scanning hardware component, not the print engine or other shared components like the transfer belt, fuser assembly, or imaging drum.