Digital BW, The Print

Another "which printer to buy?" posting.  I am quite new to the world 
of digital photography, though I have been a traditional wet darkroom 
photographer for more than a quarter century.  I have a large stock 
of 4X5 and 6X9 black and white negatives, (as well as a reasonable 
quantity of 35 mm color slides) with which I am entering the digital 
realm. Over the last several months I have been learning Photoshop 
and amassing the equipment for this foray  ---most all of it used, or 
refurbished.  This includes my first Mac, an upgraded G4 PCI 
Graphics, and a 23" HD Cinema Screen and an Imacon 646 Scanner.  The 
lastest link was an Epson Stylus Pro 7600 Ultra chrome printer which 
I bought used, and after an initial expensive visit from an Epson 
Service Rep, and a full week of work doing Black Only printing with 
MIS Eboni (enough to get me really excited about the implications of 
this new technology for my photography---what I experienced was a 
real eye opener…) something critical broke on the carriage, and it 
appears that the printer may be a total loss.  (Taking risks bears a 
price at times.)  I should add that ultimately my interest lies in 
the potential of the digital negative for contact printing processes -
--though I am becoming fascinated with the prospect of the "inkjet 
print".  In other words, I need to be able to shift back and fourth 
from black and white to color on the same machine.   So, my question 
is, with a whole new generation of Epson wide format printers on the 
horizon, should I invest in the existing lines (another 7600 or a 
4000) or wait to invest in the new lines pending? Those of you who 
have been doing this long enough to see the technology evolve and to 
perceive trends especially in the Epson printers are the ones whom I 
most hope to hear from.  Thanks, Nathan Jones