HP Error E1 — The Printer Expected a Different Paper Size

By Ryan Green · Updated August 2026 · Independent guide · PrinterCare USA LLC (not affiliated with any printer manufacturer)

Quick answer E1 on DeskJet models means paper size mismatch: the print job specified a size (say A4) and the printer believes something else is loaded (say Letter). Press Resume to print anyway, then fix the size in the driver so it doesn't recur.

Clear it now

Press the blinking Resume (or OK/Cancel) button. The job prints on the loaded paper, possibly with shifted margins.
Or press Cancel to kill the job and resend it with the right size.

Fix the cause — match three places

The size must agree in all three: the paper physically loaded, the width guides, and the size in the print job.

Paper and guides. Slide the width guides so they touch the stack without bending it. Loose guides make the printer mis-detect width and throw E1 on correct sizes.
Windows default. Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → your DeskJet → Printing preferences → Paper/Quality → set Letter (US) or A4 (most of the rest of the world). This is the sticky default apps inherit.
The app's own dialog. Word, Chrome and PDF readers can override the default per document. Documents created abroad often carry A4 — check the print dialog's paper size when E1 hits only certain files.
macOS: the size lives in the print dialog (Paper Size) and in System Settings → Printers & Scanners → the printer → Default paper size.

If E1 persists with sizes matched

Remove the stack, fan it, reload squarely. A single skewed sheet reads as the wrong width. If E1 alternates with E2 or a jam message, a scrap is sitting on the width sensor — see the phantom jam guide.

Still stuck? A technician can fix it remotely today.

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Frequently asked questions

Is E1 a hardware fault?

No. E1 is purely a settings disagreement: the job says one paper size, the tray guides or loaded paper say another. Nothing is broken.

E1 appears on every single print.

Your driver default is set to a size you never load — usually A4 defaults on a Letter-paper printer or vice versa. Fix the default in Printing preferences once and it stops.

Can I just press resume?

Yes — pressing the blinking Resume/OK button prints on whatever is loaded. It clears that one job but not the cause.