Digital BW, The Print

The collective wisdom of this group is phenomenal, so I'm looking for some
opinions.

Once upon a time, I used Cone's Piezography Photoshop plug-in in combination
with his inks on an Epson 1200 to make beautiful prints. Problem was, for
every beautiful print I made, I made 20 that were "tossers" because of ink
clogs, banding issues, etc, etc, etc.

I gave up.

Recently, I've been using QTR on an Epson 2200 (thanks, Roy!), and I'm
impressed, mainly because it works on a nearly "plug-and-play" sort of
fashion. I'd like a bit more richness in the blacks, but otherwise, I'm
happy.

I also note that a number of users on this list are using Paul Roark's
curves, and still others are using ImagePrint to drive various printers.

I am also on a Piezography listserv, and note that the number of messages in
that group has tailed off to nearly "zero" over the last few months,
suggesting that either users are busy making prints, or that, like me,
they've abandoned ship, looking for a lower frustration and "P.I.A." factor.

I'm considering buying an Epson 4000 for use with either QTR or ImagePrint,
and before I make that large (size and price) leap, I'm seeking opinions on
the state of B&W inkjet printing at this point in history.

*Is Piezography dead?
*Is the Epson 4000 worth the price of admission?
*Is ImagePrint superior to Roy's QTR? If so, why or how?

Thanks in advance for any insights that anyone might have.

-Jeff Curto