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I went along with Software Update's popup that I install the latest drivers for the printers
Have you also installed the 10.6.2 Updater? I would have thought SU would have suggested that, also...
As for calling Epson, I doubt they will be of much help. The people you would speak with would know only minimal info on any Mac. The driver people would know more, but they probably only talk to Apple. Apple is still the credible source for up-to-date drivers. They, IMHO, depend on making their hardware/OS work with other stuff, not the other way around.
Did you try the driver install in another account? Do you have another account? You should probably give yourself "Admin" authority in that secondary account, BTW.