Epson Printhead Production

Hello all I have a question that I believe others would also want to know the answer as well.

This is for re-purposed DTG printers that use an EPSON (or any other brand i suppose) print head. Seeing that DTG printers are not cheap, Its good to think of the longevity of what you can get out of it. If you are a larger shop, this wouldnt be a thought as you would just buy a new machine or invest in new technology. Some may just like their machine because they know it in and out or just cant afford the upgrade. Just like a car, they can run until the wheels fall off..... then all you have to do is buy new wheels

What I'm getting at is these machines probably could last decades (or until you just no longer want to use it) as long as you have parts when it comes time to repair. The printhead is one of the major components outside of the circuit board that runs the machine.

So how long is a print head available for purchase after the model is discontinued? Without a replacement, your printer becomes dead in the water and a really big paperweight! If its the Epson 4000 4800 3880 i believe all of these are restricted and you have to provide your serial number when purchasing. How many heads can you purchase? When should you buy that extra head? I know that it is good practice to keep an extra head just in case but is there a restriction of how many you can purchase or a time limit inbetween purchases? Should this be a priority like gallons of water when Y2K happened and we all thought the systems were going to crash and there would be nothing but chaos ... or should we relax because we still have years to go without scarcity and ordering a replacement is not going to be a problem ?