Digital BW, The Print

Hello All,

This is my first post to this group. (I've got a lot of questions but
I'll try to start off slow!)  

I've been printing for several years with a couple Epson 1200's; one
set up with Generations Archival color inks and one set up with
PiezoTone with generally good results.  However I'm looking to branch
out and do some experimenting with other inks, workflows, custom
mixing, etc.  After looking at some of the option's it seems that
there aren't as many options for the 1200's as other printers so I'm
looking for another way to go.  I looked at maybe going with a 1280 or
2200 (though it seems a waste to use a 2200 for messing around).  Then
I saw that 3000's were going fairly cheap on ebay.  There seems to be
considerable workflow/RIP support for them and they have individual
carts for switching inks, but they are quite long in the tooth at this
point.  I remember that some time back there was a lot of talk about
poor paper handling and clogging so I was wonder what you all thought
about them now and recommendations on whether it would be worth the
setup in light of more modern printers.

Thanks for your help,

John