New Epson printer?

Would y'all buy a 2200 now?

My problem is that the 2200 is getting old, and the new Epson printers that are appearing, have better specs. I would hate to purchase a 2200 now and then see it's replacement appear a few weeks/months later.

I saw the R1800, and everything looks great except the one feature that matters most to me, thick media. It doesn't look like the R1800 supports thick media like the 2200.

If the R1800 is the 2200 replacement, then Epson may be moving away from thick media/straight print path features. And that would be a real shame because their printers are the only ones that can print thick stock now.

It would be awesome if it did support thick media, but it scares me that they left that information off of the website and the manual.

Here are quotes from the specs on Epson's website. Notice the 2200 specifically mentions the straight thru path for thick media and the 1.3mm thickness twice. The R1800 specs omits this information completely.

2200
----------
Special Media Support
Roll paper - 4" , 8.3" , 13" rolls , Straight paper path to support media up to 1.3mm thick

Direct CD / DVD Printing Support
N/A

Maximum Paper Thickness
Up to 1.3mm

Straight through paper path for thicker media
Yes

Light Resistance / Print Longevity
Water resistant
Light resistant²:
Up to 108 years Premier Art™ Matte Scrapbook Photo Paper for Epson
Up to 92 years on Epson Watercolor Paper Radiant White
Up to 85 years on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper
Up to 77 years on Epson Premium Semigloss Photo Paper
Up to 76 years on Epson Enhanced Matte Paper
Up to 71 years on Epson Premium Luster Photo Paper
Up to 61 years on Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper

Paper Capacity
Input paper tray: 100 Sheets(plain paper)/10 envelopes

R1800
----------

Special Media Support
Roll paper - 4", 8.3" , and 13" rolls , Direct CD printing

Direct CD / DVD Printing Support
Yes

Light Resistance / Print Longevity
Fade resistance of 104 years for Epson Premium Glossy Paper, 150 years for Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight, and 200 years for Epson Watercolor Radiant Matte Paper³

Paper Capacity
Input paper tray: 100 Sheets(plain paper)/ 20 sheets (photo paper)/ 1 printable CD/DVD

The R1800 does print directly onto CDs, but it looks like that is accomplished with a special circular door (coffee cup holder :) ) that swings out the front.

Well like i said, it would be great if the R1800 supports thick media, like the 1.3mm or 1.5mm supported by the 2200 and 4000. In that case, it would definitely be the printer for me!

It just scares me that they don't mention those specs at all anymore on any of their new printers. Except the R800 specs says:

Straight through paper path for thicker media
N/A

Noooooooo!

EDIT:
------------------------------
I just found this review. It looks like my worst fears are realised, and none of the new Epson printers support thick media.

http://www.inkjetart.com/r1800/

Thick media handling: Unlike the Epson 2200, the Epson Stylus Photo R1800 does NOT have a straight through paper path for thicker media. The R1800 has a separate top-loading position for single, 13x19 sheets (as well as a standard auto-feed, top-loading position), but the thickest media it is designed to handle is Epson's new 325gsm 13" x 19" UltraSmooth Paper (which will be introduced to the market within a few weeks). This new paper is about 19 mils thick. The 2200, with its straight through paper path, can handle media up to 1.3mm thick (51 mils)!

So either the R1800 is not a replacement for the 2200 or else Epson has abandoned thick media....or else they redefined "thick". :?

.

>> UGH!!! I just thought the initial info was not complete!!!!

That's what I thought, too. It seems kind of shady the way they wrote the specs; like they didn't want people to know this feature was gone now.

And I didn't know this before, but after some research, it appears clear that Epson replaced several printers that accept thick media with new ones that don't.

The Epson 900 and 960 printers both supported 1.3mm posterboard, and none of their new printers do. Now we are left with the 2200 ($700) and 4000 ($1600).

The heck with Epson. I may just buy one of their old, used printers.