Technical information

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plate. Ink penetration or corrosion into the nozzle plate will cause a failure of the tiny micro -electronics
resulting in a variety of different error messages being displayed – see bottom image at this page:
http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1216
However, if your printer works routinely after inserting a brand new HP21 cartridge in it, you should
discuss the possibility of a refund with your local Costco (for the refill purchase). We regret your
inconvenience, and we hope that you will continue to consider the compelling value of inkjet refilling in
the future.
For advanced printer diagnostics specific to your printer model, please refer to ‘HP Diagnostics Tests’
.pdf file at the following link: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1813
Please let us know if you have any questions regarding the technical information provided.
For any additional questions please contact us directly: [e-mail]
-Thank you
CARTRIDGE SELF-DIAGNOSIS PERFORMED
Regarding your recent self-diagnosis of the HP XXX cartridge using the cartridge clear/bypass procedure,
it appears the ink cartridge is internally damaged. Based on the steps you followed it appears you
performed everything correctly. 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*
NOTE: 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, only the ‘Tap 41/43’ diagnostic test report can yield this information.
Once you reach the checksum menu (with 5-digit number displayed), you should be able to send one (1)
print job thru successfully at that point in time. If the same printer/cartridge error returns, or a new
blocking error message is then displayed, then the ink cartridge is likely internally damaged (micro-
electronics) and will need to be replaced with a new one.
*Many cartridges eventually do encounter problems or failures, especially after their original ink is gone
and they are re-used, and this is often unrelated to the refill process. The “Incompatible Cartridge(s)" /
“Print Cartridge(s) Problem - Refer to printer documentation." error message is typically indicative of
failed micro-electronics internal to the ink cartridge(s). It is common to have a marginally performing
ink cartridge (which was performing ok before) in the adjacent slot (i.e. color), then when a marginally
performing cartridge is installed into the other slot (i.e. black), both of the ink cartridge(s) then get
flagged with electrical errors. Running the 'Tap 41' cartridge health diagnostics test will confirm the