In-Depth instruction for Refilling HP 67 67XL Cartridges: Dealing with E0 and E1 Errors.

In this blog, we’ll discuss E0 and E1 printer errors and how to fix them.

These errors occur when at least one ink cartridge needs attention, is faulty, incorrect, missing, damaged, or incompatible. Basically, this means that the printer does not recognize the cartridge. To resolve the issue, you must reseat both ink cartridges, clean the ink cartridge contacts, restart the printer, and replace one or both ink cartridges if necessary. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at how all this is done.

If you still get the error after repeating the cleaning process a few times, this means that the cartridge has essentially gone bad. The exact reason for this faultiness largely depends on what you were doing before receiving the error. For instance, if you refilled the ink cartridge and were trying to put it back in place when the error occurred, it probably has something to do with excessive ink that’s gotten onto the chip. In this case, simply clean the contact points and put the cartridge back.

Other Reasons for E0 and E1 Errors

However, the root of the problem does not always lie with the contact points. Sometimes it has to do with the way HP has designed its cartridges. HP 67 cartridges, for example, are refillable, but starter HP cartridges are not, making them more likely to trigger an E0 error when being refilled or reconfigured.

Error Message Resolution Demo

For this blog demonstration, we will use the black starter cartridge that came with the printer. The refilled starter will print 100 pages, and the second refill will print 110 pages.

Note that the starter cartridge in this demo is dead for the color. With a regular cartridge, we printed 100 pages, received a low ink warning, and then the color went out, so we’ll have to refill number one for the color.

After 41 pages, the color got an E0 error again, so it was still on the starter cartridge for the black. The black printed a total of 251 pages and the color aspect already burned through two cartridges: the starter color cartridge printed 100 pages, and the regular cartridge printed 141 before it died. As with many things in life, the error occurred due to miscommunication.

Now let’s talk about the HP 67XL cartridge. The black ink refill number three took ten more pages, and then the color ran out, so in total, refill number three printed 51 pages. Then, I got fewer and fewer pages per refill for the black.

The starter cartridge went dead for the color, so I had to use a standard one that I could refill. All HP 67 cartridges should be refillable, but some starter cartridges throw out more E0 errors after sensing “tampering” to discourage refills. This is an obvious attempt by HP to stop users from refilling their cartridges. As my friend likes to put it, this finicky one is a “chosen one.” We’ll give this one the nickname Neo.

We need to work on Neo because we simply can’t refill this one every 20 pages. That would become a ridiculous amount of work. After I removed the cover and took a look at the sponge, I found that HP changed their sponge. It now has larger pores, and therefore holds less ink at a time.

Modifying the Cartridge

We’ll replace this cover with a transparent one that you can find in this modification kit by BCH Technologies. Your HP printer uses the sponge in the cartridge to regulate the ink pressure. We use a special pressure regulator on our replacement cover, so it doesn’t need a sponge at all, and we can make it spongeless. You can find instructions on how to make a spongeless cartridge here.

Now, we’re going to make a sponge-spongeless hybrid cartridge.

This will correct some of the most common ink cartridge errors, including the E0 and E1 errors discussed above. It can also help with cartridges that leak. If you try to make a spongeless cartridge and it doesn’t work, you can try this method. Keep in mind that this hybrid solution only works for non-XL cartridges.

Personally, I don’t like this hybrid, but some people can’t get the spongeless cartridge working, so this can be a great middle-ground solution. This way, you’ve got two things to regulate the ink pressure, so for this reason, it can be the better option.

How to Make a Hybrid Cartridge

First, smooth out the top edge by running it across a sheet of sandpaper. Then, remove one side (the one nearest the bottom) of the inner box wall with pliers. You can keep the other portions of the inner chamber walls because that will prevent you from installing the cover upside down—for the black, if you remove all four of the walls, this is an easy mistake to make. After removing the inner wall, you can put the sponge back in the box.

Now, it’s time to glue it all back together. Refer to my spongeless cartridge how-to video if you require further instruction. Make sure to glue it airtight, wipe off the excess ink, wrap it with rubber bands, and let it sit for 12 to 24 hours.

Test Your New Hybrid Cartridge!

Let’s now print the first 50 pages. During the printing, I get a strange E1 error. If you look it up, E1 indicates incorrect paper size. I couldn’t figure this out until I restarted the printer. For some reason, HP software sometimes tells the printer that you’re printing with an incompatible paper size, blocking the printing process and messing up the whole system. Simply restart your printer, and the error should go away.

Some pages later, we got to the first refill for the color, so the original colored fill printed 171 pages, and the black starter cartridge is still going strong. Right now, the spongeless cartridge is printing 91 pages—you can see the advantages of using a spongeless cartridge.

We’re now printing 141 pages off the spongeless version. The refilled color XL cartridge did pretty well, producing 160 pages in total. Still, the second color refill appears to have a sponge fatigue problem again, only printing 45 pages before needing to be refilled. The color cartridge is also a “chosen one.” However, it has the same sponge fatigue problem as many others. You can convert it to a spongeless color cartridge if you want to correct that. You don’t have to do the hybrid; just do that for the finicky color one. Most likely, it will work.

We hope this post has been helpful to you! Browse our blog for more how-to content and information about printer repair and ink refills.