A laser printer is producing completely blank sheets. Which of the following processes should the technician check FIRST?

The fusing stage bonds already-transferred toner to the paper using heat and pressure; if toner never reached the paper, a fusing problem would still produce blank pages but development is the more fundamental upstream cause to check first.

Paper handling moves media through the printer; a paper handling issue would cause jams or misfeeds, not blank output.

The transfer stage moves toner from the drum to the paper, but it requires the development stage to have successfully applied toner to the drum first.

In the laser printing process, the development stage is where toner particles are electrostatically attracted to the discharged areas of the drum to form a visible image. If the developer unit, toner cartridge, or developer roller fails, no toner is applied to the drum and subsequent stages (transfer and fusing) have nothing to work with, resulting in completely blank pages. This is the first process to investigate for blank output.