Digital BW, The Print

[I'm not sure if my previous post went through, many apologies if this is a double-post]

Hi folks,

I'm an absolute newbie to B/W printing and was considering picking up a used Epson R280 (or optionally a C84) as my first (and probably only) dedicated BW printer. I'll be using Matte paper primarily, and I'm thinking of going all-Warm for starters.

I've read most of Paul Roarks relevant articles, and tried to search these forums as much as possible before posting, but I'm not sure I found clear answers to my specific questions.

1. In the UT-RC set, there are essentially 3 distinct ink densities: Eboni, Dark midtone and Light midtone, correct? If so, why does MIS sell 6 separate *Bulk* ink bottles? I understand that the cartridge chips are specific to ink position, so I'll need 6 of them, but I only need 3 different Bulk bottles to fill them up, isn't it?

2. Approximately how much ink does a pre-filled R280 HC cartridge hold? MIS's pre-filled UT-RC cartridges are ridiculously expensive ($20 apiece). At those prices, they should hold almost as much ink as a 4oz. bulk ink bottle ($18). Is this true? I'm trying to decide on whether it's worth it to get the pre-filled carts or just stick to empty carts + bulk inks.

3. Finally, ignoring the cost of the printer, it appears that an R280 setup is going to be noticeably more expensive than a 4-ink, 2-density C84/86 setup. Is the increase in quality worth the price differential?

Thanks for your time.