Why can’t I see my printer’s paper trays?



Your organization has a large networked printer that has five paper trays and an envelope tray. However, the only options available during the printing process are to print to a single paper tray or the envelope tray. What is the most likely cause of this problem?

A) There is a problem with the network connection to the printer

B) The printer trays are out of paper

C) The computer’s printer driver is incorrect or damaged

D) The printer has a hardware problem

The answer: C) The computer’s printer driver is incorrect or damaged

The printer driver is responsible for telling the local computer about the printer’s paper trays, color capabilities, font options, and much more. If a printer characteristic isn’t correct when starting the printing process, then the issue is probably caused by an incorrect driver on the local workstation.

The incorrect answers:

A) There is a problem with the network connection to the printer
A network problem would cause a problem when printing to the printer, and it wouldn’t change the way the printer is defined on the workstation.

B) The printer trays are out of paper
A networked printer may be able to identify paper trays that are out of paper, but it won’t remove them from the printer driver on the workstation.

D) The printer has a hardware problem
A printer might have hardware issues, but those problems won’t manifest themselves by removing capabilities from the printer driver on a local workstation.


Want to know more? Watch “Printing and Scanning: Components, Consumables, and Interfaces.”


What are the major components of your printer, and what do you need to keep it running? In this video, we’ll show you key features of printer drivers, how memory is used by printers, and how printers and scanners feed paper. We’ll also detail printer consumables and methods of connecting to printers and scanners over local and remote interfaces.