Mike,

One of the factors that you should consider is the kind of paper that you plan to use when making prints. If your goal is to make photo-realistic prints on glossy paper, you may be dismayed at the 7-10 year life expected for such prints from the 1280. The expected life for prints made on Epson's matte paper is closer to 25 years. On the other hand, the newer pigment based inks give a life of 80-100 years on most photo-realistic papers.

One area in which dye based inks excell is printing on non-coated papers. For instance, if you would like to print on watercolor paper or rice paper, the 1280 may be a good choice for you. There are coated watercolor papers and coated rice papers, but the results of printing on them is not at all the same as what you achieve with an uncoated paper. It depends upon the results you seek.

I suggest that you spend some time looking at a site such as www.inkjetart.com. They have excellent information on papers and printers, including the pros and cons of buying a 1280.

I have been using a 1280 almost since they were introduced. The original inks were more prone to clogging, but Epson has changed the chemistry over the years. I seldom have clogs now, except when printing on rice paper, and then it's ot the printer's fault. It's because of paper particles from the rice paper itself. I have used several 3rd party inks with varying degrees of success. The ink sold by inkjetart.com is pretty good, but when I last used it two years ago, it clogged more frequently than Epson's own ink. It is much less expensive than Epson's ink, though.

Best of luck.