The fact that I am going to pose this question makes me shudder. Actually it makes my credit card shudder. When I start asking questions like this on a forum, it usaully means I am going to be buying something soon. Here goes....

I need some advice on the advantages of buying an epson 9800 over a 7800. Or should I wait until the next round of epson printers is released?

Most of my work is printed in the 24xX inch size. This has mainly been a result of having to pay shops to print it (and some file size issues). I misss my darkroom and I am tired of paying shops 100.00 for a single print. I occasionally sell images (typically in the multiple 100's of dollar ranges). I would probably sell more if I could print at home. Likewise, I have a backlog of things I want to print, that would probably get done if I had in house printing services. Having to mail things back and forth is not a sensible workflow.

I will be printing b&w and color images.

So, I am pretty set on buying either the Epson 7800 or 9800. Besides getting an additional 20 inches in width out of the 9800, what are the real world differences in cost, operation, quality, convenience. Should I get the 9800 now, pay an additional 1800-2000, or just get the 7800 now (*save* that money and put it towards a larger printer in the future - if I need it.

Or should I wait until the end of the year and see what epson is going to do with their wide format printer line?

Please let me know your thoughts and experience using both or either printer.