A serious photo printer?

[tbob]

And now I am at the stage where I want to print some of my better fine art photos. As was the case when i shot 35mm, I was never happy with commercial printers, and so I invested in darkroom equipment and printed my own black and white images. Now I want to do the same with my digital images, especially after learning one custom imaging house wanted $110 to print and archive ONE image! Oh, my local Walgreens is fine for family snapshots, but their black and white prints are best described as gray ad white prints.

So, what photo printer. I am aware that some of the $1000+ printers would do the job without question, but my budget is around $400-$550. I am interested in a printer that can give me good black and white images. Any suggestions?

Or, if any of you have found a lab that can print excellent black and white images 8X10 or up to 10X13 in size, I am interested.

[Robusto]

I have an Epson stylus 1400 which is pretty good cost £300 in the UK 6 inks otherwise the Epson R2880 is a lot better for around £450 8 inks

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/int...00/Page_1.html

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/pri...80/page-1.html