I spent a lot of time on the printing forum at DPReview and read many complaints about Epson inks drying up and clogging if the printer isn't used every day. I also read lots of high praise for the Canon 9000 (and it gets great reviews on Amazon and elsewhere).

I considered that model, as well as a big HP, but decided to wait and do my better prints with mpix.com for now.

I don't know how the images will compare for you because I'm not familiar with your original printer.

Yes, I haven't had any luck finding articles on the topic of whether PQ in general has improved over the years.

Well, they have better types of inks now, but some are specific to certain printers. I didn't pay too much attention to those discussions because I was primarily interested in greyscale. My focus was on my dad's negatives from the 1940s.

But from the reputation of your new printer, I'd say chances are you'll be more than pleased with the output.

The interesting thing is that every high-end printer I read about gets lots of praise but also some very negative comments. There are people who claim the 9000 failed on the first day or was DOA.

Hard to know if it's poor QC at the factory, or misuse by the owner.

I'm sure that's a factor. This sort of thing seems to be common with a lot of electronics. I certainly encountered it when I was shopping for a scanner. I try to keep in mind that people are more likely to be motivated to post a review if they are unhappy with the product. That tends to skew the ratings.