I print regularly -- about three or four 18x24-inch or larger prints a week -- on a wide-format Epson 7880 I got used last year for $800 (it replaced a well-used Epson 7600 I ran for seven years after buying it for $500). Using aftermarket ink from Ink Owl makes the cost of running it negligible, and I use a variety of papers, none of which carries the word "photography" anywhere on the label. I rarely make conventional photographs; instead I'm producing black and white prints on non-photo papers for hand coloring with acrylic paints, destined for fine art galleries. For this work I like the character of everything from watercolor paper to good printmaking paper such as Stonehenge to used grocery bags and even newsprint. OK, I have odd tastes.
That first Epson was a big leap of faith, and I have to say it changed my photographic life. Size matters. It's great to be able to print large -- I often do vertical panoramas of up to 24 by 84 inches -- and it's great to be able to try something out you just thought of, at home, any time day or night, without involving a commercial printer. The cost of operation has been much cheaper than hiring things done, not to mention all the transportation and shipping (we live well out of town) that would be involved.
Also, whenever I suffer an attack of GAS -- and who hasn't? -- I find the best cure is to go out and shoot something and print it large with the cameras I already have and then try to imagine what buying a new piece of gear could possibly improve
Yes, you have to maintain the equipment -- it helps to be a tinkerer -- but the pro printers are well built, and you can find most of what you need to know to fix them on YouTube. Basically I wore the old one out. My current model has worked without clogs or jams or any other issues for more than a year.