I have had an Epson 2200 for a year now and have had no problems. It sounds like not all your ink cartridges are working and one or more are probably clogged. Any time you have not used the printer for more than a few weeks you will need to run the Head Cleaning utility. Usually you have to do this multiple times (2-4x) and check the nozzle pattern on some plain white paper after each cleaning pass. If you have not used your printer in months that could also be a problem. You should run the Print Head Alignment utility.

I always use Epson paper and Epson inks. The printer is too expensive an investment to mess around with other brands. Check the date stamp on the bottom of the box when buying ink cartridges to make sure you get fresh ones. It is important to always match the paper selection in the print dialog box (Type/Media Type) to the paper you are using. Selecting "Quality" rather than "Speed" in the print dialog box should also help.

Good Luck.

Margie