I'm another who has given up on Epson printers after two in succession gave persistant problems.
I can't recall the model numbers. but both were 5 ink photo printers. The first came with roll paper adapters, which was handy as at the time I was editing a motorcycle club magazine & did quite a lot of photo printing every two months for the magazine. Getting the thing to want to work was always an issue & I reckon it used more ink cleaning & unclogging itself than it did printing. Cost quite a bit in wasted photo paper too, with failed prints happening often – not at the start of a print usually, but half way through. Gave up on it in the end and sold it on Ebay, somewhat suprisingly to the "Photo Me" photo booth operating company.
The replacement Epson photo printer cost a third of the price of the first, but couldn't use the roll paper.. That had similar clogging issues, then just died with a fatal error after a couple of years. I guess this was related to the full waste ink pad bit – annoying as the ink pad would mainly be full of ink wasted trying to unblock the thing.
Currently running an entry level Canon MG3250 3-in-1 machine. Not a photo printer as such, but does a reasonable job & doesn't seem to mind being left for periods between uses. Cartidges cost more, as they include the print head (different technology to Epson), but I am only on the first replacement pair of cartridges in two or three years so running cost are not too bad. At least with this design a duff print head is easily replaced by installing a fresh cartridge – Epson print heads (if available) seem to cost more than a new printer. Can't comment on operability of the Canon with Linux, as I haven't tried to print in my tentative forays into Linux.
I did try a mono laser printer, a Brother, but that died after two toner cartridges. The part it needed was available, but cost £90 to repair a printer that cost £50. That one just got recycled. Similarly at work – an expensive Brother colour laser printer only lasted around two years, whereas the Brother A3 inkjet 3-in-1s last 5 years or more.
I just treat them as another disposable item now.
Nigel B.