A technician, Anne, observes that a laser printer prints pages with toner scattered on the page that easily rubs off of the paper. Which of the following components has failed in the printer?

The duplexing assembly controls two-sided printing by routing paper for a second pass and has no role in toner adhesion.

The imaging drum holds the electrostatic image that attracts toner during the developing stage, not the stage that bonds toner to paper.

The fusing assembly uses a heated roller to melt the thermoplastic toner particles and press them into the paper fibers, permanently bonding them. If the fuser is defective or not reaching proper temperature, toner is deposited on the page by the transfer process but never bonded, causing it to smear or rub off. This symptom is the classic indicator of a failed fusing assembly.

The transfer roller transfers toner from the drum to the paper, but if it failed the page would have little or no toner - not toner that rubs off.