Digital BW, The Print

hello 
 
i own an epson r1800 and have been using it since last year with a
niagra bulk system and the mis eboni ink system. it had been making
what i thought were some pretty nice prints and a lot of them. but
recently i was running low on a couple of inks(yellow,blue and
red?)and the lights for the paper feed and ink button started blinking
alternately and the cartridge holder won't move out of the starting
position. i called epson and they said the cleaning pads had filled up
with ink. my question is- is it the low inks(which i am ordering) or
is it the ink cleaning pads, and how do i get the ink cartidge holder
to move so i could clean it or replace them(i don't know if you can
actually do that).

if anybody has suggestions that would help, i greatly appreciate it.

elm