Need info on Epson 8550 as a midlevel art printer using 3rd party pigment ink please!

Verity

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Hello!

I'm a digital artist looking at buying an A3+ art printer for my art. My art is highly detailed with lots of subtle shading. You can see it at veritysvisions . com if you need. Do you think it could manage the subtle shading and vibrant colors in my art?

I want to print on thick matte cotton paper with pigment inks.
My housemate might want to print photographs occasionally on glossy photo paper that has already been purchased.

I'd like a printer that has a good quality build and will last me for a while with reasonable production costs.

During my research, I came across the Epson ET 8550 and the pigment inks for it at Precision Colors and am highly intrigued. But I have quite a few questions I'd love to have answered before I spend the money on this thing.

The page for the ink on Precision Colors says they've been using their pigment ink in it for over 2 years and it's been working great. https://www.precisioncolors.com/ET8550.html

Some concerns I've come across that I'd like answers for are:

Can this printer perform well enough to replicate my art to a reasonable degree?

I've looked at the Red River paper Precision Colors recommends and those look nice, but I'm not an expert on this stuff. Can you offer opinions on these? Or recommend other third party papers that are reasonably priced?

What kind of maintenance will it need and can it be performed at home? I've seen references to 'waste ink tanks/pads' being full and meaning end of life for printers and page counters that need reset. Does this printer have issues like this?

Specific questions for the pigment ink:

I've read some stuff that says pigment ink needs agitated to stay mixed and not settle or precipitate. Is this true of Precision Colors ink? What would be the best way of accomplishing this in the ET 8550? The recommended process for agitation in the ink tank was to disconnect the tubes somewhere along the line to the print head and use a syringe to suck ink in and out of the tank. Does this seem like a reasonable process?

What is the shelf life of the ink? Storage requirements?

How often to print to keep clogs from happening?

How can I clean it if it does clog?

Can I do borderless printing with pigments? Does it need cleaning afterwards and how do I perform that?

How often should I be printing to keep the print head from clogging?

What is the real issue with printing pigment on glossy surfaces? Is it just gloss differential or is smearing an issue or something else?

Are there other questions I should be asking?

What are your general opinions for this printer?

Thanks for your time!
 
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