Technical information

likely, an internal micro-electronic failure inside one of the ink cartridges. 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.* To help identify the root cause, and to determine which

cartridge is causing the error condition, please activate the self-test below (please refer to B.).

NOTE: “Empty” and “Low Ink” alerts are COMPLETELY NORMAL for all newer HP integrated ink

cartridges which have been refilled! While at first this may be an unusual workflow, it does allow print

operations to proceed. The ink level monitoring feature cannot be reset (i.e. in the newer line of

integrated ink cartridges, HP blows the ink monitoring resistors inside the cartridge the first time it is

used - thus it is impossible to reset them). Printer nuisance messages may also be ignored:

http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=420

Please first verify the age of the ink cartridge(s)....look at imprinted date on front of ink cartridge. If this

‘warranty expiration date’ has expired, then potential internal electrical cartridge failures can occur due

to internal corrosion, etc.

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.

As a temporary workaround, or if you are unable to determine which cartridge is causing the issue,

remove one of the ink cartridges from the printer....this might place the printer into the 'single cartridge

printer mode'....print jobs may then be executed from the computer (only): To confirm if this feature is

supported on your particular printer model, please refer to your printer's User Guide.

An internal electrical failure of a cartridge can be confirmed by performing the following

corrective/diagnostic steps:

A. Ensure BOTH carriage/flex cables and BOTH ink cartridge contacts are thoroughly clean before

proceeding: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1519

B. Print the Self Test Page: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=579

1. Press and HOLD the Power button, press the Cancel button. Release both buttons.

2. The self test page should print.

--- If the self test page prints (illustrates that printer is functional) but normal/regular printing from the

computer/host workstation is not permissible, then one of the ink cartridges likely has a problem and

may need to be replaced. Evaluate test page to ensure all ink nozzles are firing from both ink cartridges;

use to check color printing performance. A good HP 60/60XL color cartridge normally has 1248 good

nozzles, while a good HP 60/60XL black ink cartridge has 336 functioning nozzles.