Hi Jeremy, I'll probably see you later today with Schewe...
My guru told me that many of these heads were known time bombs, but not every one. The new head on my 9900 he told was a newer, improved design that's on also one newer generations of Epson printers. Like Nikon and the D600 which was replaced with the D610, Epson did the same with some of the problem print heads, fixing the problem and doing a silent release to "manage" the issue.
In any case, I was told I should be good for another five years or so and to simply do a little vacuum cleaning whenever I do canvas and it should be trouble free for many years.
In any case, I did get my money's worth from this printer in spite of the head replacement. In ten years with this second-hand printer, I had one service call for a professional cleaning four years ago and now after ten, the head replaced and another deep cleaning. I'd tell you it was a good value for what I paid for it years ago and put into servicing it.
In any case, I simply keep feeding it ink and paper, make enough to pay the bills and enjoy a few prints for myself along the way.