My experience with photo printers has not been good. For casual printing, any old printer on the market today will do an adequate job; if you want prints that look and handle like *real* photos, take your flash card over to WalMart and get them to print the images for you - it'll be cheaper in the long run and you'll get better prints.
I was heavy into photo restoration a couple of years ago and I couldn't get the Canon printer I was using to match what the screen showed - I would restore an image - fix up skin blemishes etc and then print it and it would come out all messed up or off-color. I decided to invest in an Epson 1280 Photo printer which was the top of the line at that time - about $800 CAD - and the results were good for a while but within a few months, I couldn't get a decent print for anything.
I later found out that heat and humidity were the culprit. The humidity affected the paper and the heat affected the ink, rendering the whole printer useless except in the coldest winter months. Nevermind that when it did decide to work, I couldn't get it calibrated to the computer and colors never matched the screen.
What was your question again?? You want to spend $400 on a printer? What pictures do you intend to print??
The prints you get from a home printer never *feel* right. They are always kind of sticky.
Just my 2¢ worth M
I almost forgot, that Epson printer is all packed up in my storage room, pay the freight and you can have it.
