"... the tech was very wrong..." Really? Do you realize that some of the "Things" the support tech advised you to do may have actually resolved the issue? Having worked as a Support Software Technician for a major accounting application used by DOE I've seen/heard it all Steven... Government employees can at times seem to believe that it is the Support Tech's fault that they didn't read the documentation or follow appropriate procedures.

Before you slam a group of hard working Tech's walk a mile in their shoes...

The Tech told you to bring the the printer in to repair... Since you refused and decided to go for the alternative of replacing it (you choice not the Tech's choice) you're pissed because of replacement costs (which are totally out of the Tech's hands).

btw, why didn't you recycle *power off/on* the printer in the first place before calling "Support"?

FYI: Support Tech's are under huge pressure to "Turn" the support call as quickly as practical especially when the queue gets long... Way too many factors in the mix here....

Besides how much were you charged for the support call Steven? Yep End User's want everything for free...
The design life of your Epson 3880? Think about this Steven...

All the best on your journey Steven...

My 7 year old Epson 3880 suddenly started doing some weird things, giving me all sorts of messages and wouldn’t print. After about an hour on the phone and after trying all sorts of things, the tech support person told me it was a hardware problem and that I needed to bring it in for repair or purchase a new printer. After checking out the prices of Epson and Canon, I saw that the latest models of equivalent size are about $1,100-1,200. And, I figured a repair would probably cost more than the printer is worth at this point. (At least, that is in dollar value. As long as it works, it does a great job and is priceless to me.). So I decided to give it another go. Turned it off, then on, double checked all settings and pressed print, and lo and behold, it worked! I printed several photos, all came out beautifully. This may or may not continue to work properly. But the point is, at least for now, the tech was very wrong. Be cautious of tech support!

Unfortunately, tech support is in the difficult position of trying to diagnose something from a distance. There is a lot to be said for sitting in front of the equipment being diagnosed. Additionally, and not necessarily directed at you personally, tech support has to rely on an accurate description provided by someone who may not be technically savvy. That adds to the difficulty of trying to accurately diagnose the issue.

In some cases with computers and related equipment, doing a hard re-boot solves a good deal of the issues.
--Bob