A department's laser printer suddenly begins producing pages covered with random toner speckles. As the onsite technician, which component should you check or replace first to resolve the issue?
Reinstall or update the printer driver on the workstations.
Verify that the correct paper type is selected in the printer driver.
Increase the printer's resolution/DPI setting and print a test page.
Inspect the toner cartridge for leaks or damage and replace it if necessary.
Toner speckles usually appear when excess toner escapes from a damaged or nearly empty EP/toner cartridge or when its built-in drum can no longer clean itself. Inspecting (and, if necessary, reseating or replacing) the toner cartridge is the quickest, lowest-cost first step. Paper settings, print-quality settings, or drivers rarely create random physical speckles, so they are ruled out until after the cartridge has been verified.
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What is an EP/toner cartridge, and why is it prone to causing toner speckles?
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What other issues can a damaged or nearly empty toner cartridge cause in printing?
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Why are driver settings or paper type unlikely to cause toner speckles?