Technical information
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to an electrical connection issue between the printer and the cartridge, or more likely, an internal micro-
electronic failure inside the cartridge itself. An electronic failure of the cartridge would be unrelated to
the ink cartridge refill process; these same failures can (and frequently do!!) occur with brand new ink
cartridges*. We suggest you perform the procedures outlined below to either determine which
cartridge is causing the issue or to confirm an internal micro-electronic failure of the suspect ink
cartridge.
NOTE 1: As a temporary workaround remove one of the ink cartridges from the printer....this will place
the printer into the 'single cartridge printer mode'....print jobs may then be executed from the computer
(only).
NOTE 2: Unfortunately, alignment pages and internal self test prints will usually print Ok even if the
cartridge is internally electrically damaged. Do not use these test pages as a proxy for determining
whether a cartridge is good or bad.
Please first verify the age of the ink cartridge(s)....look at imprinted date on front (or back) of ink
cartridge. If this ‘warranty expiration date’ has expired, then potential cartridge failures can occur due to
internal corrosion, etc.
DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATIONS
To help determine/confirm which cartridge is causing the problem:
1. Open the cartridge access door.
2. Remove either cartridge (not both).
3. Close the cartridge access door.
-- If the computer message is Print Cartridge Error, then the print cartridge that is still in the printer is
the problem cartridge. If the computer message is NOT Print Cartridge Error (instead, it says that the
cartridge you have removed is ...Either missing, not detected, or incorrectly installed), then the cartridge
you have removed is the problem cartridge. On some printer models, if you notice the blinking error
lights stops blinking following a cartridge removal, then this is the defective cartri dge.
This type of problem (i.e. “E” / ‘Blinking Error Lights’) is typically an internal micro-electronic failure
inside the cartridge itself. An electronic failure of the cartridge would be unrelated to the ink cartridge
refill process; these same failures can occur with brand new ink cartridges*. At the moment, we suggest
you attempt to clean all electrical contacts and then run the internal self-test to confirm the type of
electrical failure:
A. Ensure BOTH carriage/flex cables and BOTH ink cartridge contacts are thoroughly clean before
proceeding: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1519
B. Internal Self Test Print:
1. Press and HOLD the CANCEL (X) button
2. Depress the COLOR COPY button
The diagnostic test page should print.