I have an Epson 600. This has happened to me and this is what I do to fix it:
1) Lift the cover and leave it open.
2) Unplug the power cord.
3) While watching the cartridge holder(print head), plug the power cord back in.
4) The printer will try to do a start-up routine. As soon as the print head moves to the center of the printer, unplug the power again. You can now freely move the print head over to the space where you can remove the cartridges. You may have to do several cleaning/nozzle check routines to get the print head to work properly. I have had to do six or more sometimes.
You may have one problem tho. You said that the current cartridge was out of ink. If the cartridge ran completely dry the print nozzles may have dried up and become clogged. They are a bummer to get working again. Here is what I do:
Get some paper towel. Cut it into a strip that is just narrow enough to fit in the area under the print head but along the width of the printer. There is enough room to get it under there. You will have to move the print head around to get the paper towel under it.
Next get one of the syringes you used to refill your cartridge. Remove the cartridge that is not working correctly. Look in the area where it was and you will see a plastic pin sticking up. This is what punctures the cartridge and lets the ink into the print head. Fill your syringe with VERY HOT water (about 5 ml). Place the syringe over the pin, it should go all the way on. Now force all of the water thru the pin. This will (hopefully) clean out the nozzles. After that force air thru it a couple of times with the syringe. Replace the cartridge and go thru the cleaning/nozzle checks until you get a good pattern.
I Hope this helps.
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