Canon Printer error E13 is almost always linked to an ink level detection problem after a cartridge has run low, been refilled, or is no longer being read correctly by the printer. If you need a fast recovery, start with these three fixes that directly target E13.
First, press and hold the printer’s Stop/Reset button for about 5 to 10 seconds. On many Canon PIXMA models, this disables ink level monitoring for the cartridge that triggered E13 and allows printing to continue. This is the most common immediate fix when E13 appears after a refill or after the printer reports an empty tank.
Second, open the printer cover, remove the affected ink cartridge, and reinstall it firmly until it clicks into place. E13 can appear when the cartridge is slightly unseated, the electrical contacts are dirty, or the carriage did not lock the tank correctly after replacement.
Third, replace the reported empty or unreadable cartridge with a genuine, compatible Canon cartridge if holding Stop/Reset does not clear E13. If the cartridge chip or tank itself has failed, the printer will keep showing E13 until a working cartridge is installed.
Canon Printer error E13 means the printer has detected that an ink cartridge has run out of ink, or the printer can no longer properly monitor the remaining ink level for that cartridge. On Canon inkjet printers, especially PIXMA models that use FINE cartridges or individual ink tanks, E13 is tied to the printer’s ink management system. The printer is warning that printing cannot continue normally because one cartridge is considered empty or its remaining ink status cannot be confirmed.
In practical terms, E13 often appears in one of these situations: the cartridge genuinely is empty, the cartridge was refilled and the printer still remembers it as empty, the cartridge chip is not reporting correctly, or the printer is asking you to acknowledge that you want to continue printing without active ink level monitoring.
This matters because Canon printers use cartridge identification and usage tracking to prevent dry printing. If the printer believes a cartridge is empty, it may stop operation until you either replace the cartridge or manually override the warning. Continuing to print after E13 without enough ink can damage the printhead, so the error should be handled carefully rather than ignored.
Follow the steps below one at a time — many error codes can be fixed faster than they look.
Follow these steps in order. Because E13 is tied to cartridge status and ink level detection, each step below is focused specifically on clearing that condition on a Canon Printer.
Step 1: Identify which cartridge triggered E13.
Look at the printer display, status lights, or the Canon printer software on the computer. E13 commonly points to either the black cartridge or the color cartridge, depending on the model. Some printers show a letter or icon for the affected tank. You need to know exactly which cartridge is being flagged before moving further, because E13 is usually not a general printer fault. It is tied to one specific ink supply.
Step 2: Check whether the cartridge is truly empty.
Open the cover and let the carriage move into the replacement position. Inspect the cartridge named by the printer. If it has been in use for a long time, if prints have become faded, streaky, or blank, or if the cartridge feels unusually light, it may genuinely be empty. In that case, the correct fix for E13 is replacement, not reset. Install a fresh, model-correct Canon cartridge and then close the cover. Wait for the printer to initialize and check whether E13 clears.
Step 3: If the cartridge was refilled, override E13 with Stop/Reset.
This is the most common case. Canon printers often keep the empty record even after a cartridge is refilled. If you know the cartridge contains ink, press and hold the Stop/Reset button on the printer for 5 to 10 seconds. On some models the button may be labeled Stop, Resume/Cancel, or marked with a red triangle in a circle. Hold it until the printer responds. This tells the printer to continue operation and disable ink level detection for that cartridge.
After this, E13 should disappear. Be aware that the printer may no longer show accurate remaining ink information for that cartridge until it is replaced with a new chipped unit. You will need to monitor print quality manually to avoid printing dry.
Step 4: Remove and reinstall the affected cartridge.
If holding Stop/Reset did not clear E13, turn the printer on, open the cover, and wait until the carriage stops moving. Release the affected cartridge and remove it. Inspect the cartridge body for cracked plastic, ink leakage, or damaged contact areas. Reinsert it slowly and firmly until it locks into place. A cartridge that sits slightly high or does not click in fully can trigger E13 because the contact pins do not align correctly.
Close the cover and allow the printer to recheck the cartridge. If E13 returns immediately, continue to the next step.
Step 5: Clean the cartridge contacts.
Power the printer off and unplug it. Remove the affected cartridge again. Use a lint-free cloth or cotton swab lightly dampened with isopropyl alcohol to gently clean the gold or copper electrical contacts on the cartridge. Do not touch the nozzles more than necessary. Also inspect the corresponding contacts inside the carriage and carefully remove visible residue. Let everything dry fully for several minutes before reinstalling.
Contact contamination is a specific and frequent reason E13 persists after refill or replacement. Even a thin film of ink can prevent reliable chip communication.
Step 6: Confirm the cartridge is the correct Canon model.
E13 can continue if the cartridge installed does not exactly match the printer’s supported cartridge number. Check the label on the cartridge against the printer’s required model. Some third-party cartridges fit physically but use chips that do not behave correctly with Canon’s ink detection system. If the cartridge number or compatibility is questionable, replace it with a known compatible or genuine Canon cartridge.
Step 7: Replace the cartridge if the chip has failed.
If you have already reseated the cartridge, cleaned contacts, and attempted the Stop/Reset override, the cartridge itself may be defective. Refilled cartridges and remanufactured units are especially prone to chip read errors that produce E13. Install a new cartridge for the exact slot that caused the warning. If the printer accepts the new cartridge immediately, the original cartridge was the source of E13.
Step 8: Run a print test and verify output.
Once E13 has cleared, print a nozzle check or test page. This confirms two things: first, that the printer has accepted the cartridge and exited the E13 state; second, that the cartridge actually contains enough usable ink to print correctly. If output is blank, faded, or missing one color, the cartridge may still be empty despite being recognized, or the printhead may have taken in air during refill. In that case, replace the cartridge rather than repeatedly bypassing E13.
Step 9: Understand the effect of disabling ink monitoring.
When E13 is cleared by pressing and holding Stop/Reset, Canon printers typically stop tracking remaining ink for that cartridge. This is normal. The printer may continue to work, but it no longer knows how much ink is left. If you keep using a refilled cartridge, inspect print quality regularly. The moment text becomes faint or colors drop out, stop printing and refill or replace the cartridge. Running completely dry can overheat the printhead and create far more serious faults than E13.
Step 10: Power cycle the printer after cartridge correction.
If you replaced the cartridge or successfully performed the Stop/Reset override and the display still seems stuck, turn the printer off, unplug it for 2 minutes, reconnect it, and power it back on. This forces the printer to reinitialize cartridge detection. While E13 is not usually caused by a full printer logic failure, a restart can help the printer reread the corrected cartridge status.
Step 11: Check driver status on the connected computer.
Sometimes the printer itself has accepted the cartridge, but the computer’s Canon status monitor still displays the previous E13 message. Open the printer queue, clear paused jobs, then reopen Canon printer status software. Send a fresh test print. If the printer panel is clear but the computer still reports E13, removing old queued jobs and restarting the spooler can eliminate stale status messages.
Step 12: When to stop troubleshooting E13.
If E13 stays active even with a brand-new, correct cartridge and clean contacts, the issue may be in the carriage contact board or the cartridge detection circuit inside the printer. At that stage, repeated resets are unlikely to help. The fault is no longer just stored empty status; it is a hardware read problem. For lower-cost Canon printers, replacing the printer may be more economical than carriage-level repair. For a higher-end photo printer or business inkjet, professional service is the next step.
Prevention tips specific to E13
To reduce the chance of seeing E13 again, do not continue printing for long after the printer first warns of low ink. Replace or refill cartridges promptly before they reach the locked empty state. If you refill cartridges, do so carefully and avoid spilling ink onto the contacts. Always install cartridges squarely and avoid touching the chip area with bare fingers. If you use third-party supplies, choose cartridges from a vendor with reliable chip compatibility for your exact Canon model.
Final note on E13
Canon Printer error E13 is not random. It is a cartridge-specific ink monitoring error, and the correct fix depends on whether the cartridge is truly empty, refilled but still flagged, incorrectly seated, or electronically unreadable. In most cases, E13 is resolved by either replacing the affected cartridge or pressing and holding the Stop/Reset button to acknowledge continued printing with disabled ink detection. If those exact actions do not work, cartridge contact cleaning and cartridge replacement are the next targeted fixes.
See also: Printer Error Codes – Complete Guide by Brand — browse all HP, Canon, Brother, and Epson error code fixes in one place.
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