A user reports that their laser printer, which has been reliable for two years, is now producing printouts where the toner is not properly adhering to the paper and can be smudged off with a finger. The printer is not displaying any error messages. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this problem?
The fuser assembly has become faulty and is not heating up sufficiently.
The toner cartridge is low and needs replacement.
The transfer belt is misaligned or malfunctioning.
When a laser printer's toner does not fuse properly to the paper, the fuser assembly is the most probable cause. The fuser's function is to apply heat and pressure to melt and bond the toner to the paper. A faulty or end-of-life fuser will not reach the necessary temperature, resulting in smudgable toner on prints. While using an incorrect paper type can also lead to poor fusing, a malfunctioning fuser is a more likely cause for a printer that was previously working correctly. A low toner cartridge would cause faded prints, not a failure to fuse. A malfunctioning transfer belt typically results in defects like color alignment issues, streaks, or missing colors, rather than fusing errors.
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What is a fuser assembly and what does it do?
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