I've had this printer for just a week and I'm amazed at the results. It was easy to set up and is easy to use. I took a look at "Real World Color Management," by Fraser, Murphy, and Bunting, before I started using the printer. It's a helpful book, even if you just skim a few of the early chapters. It helped me to understand the printer's advanced options and to get the results I wanted. You could just use the printer with the out of the box settings, and I suppose it would produce really nice results. I'm an artist, though, and I want to be in control. That's why I bought this printer, I was frustrated with unpredictable results from labs.
A note on ink:
I have been printing on glossy paper. At $18.99 per cartridge for ink (Epson website price, with free overnight shipping if you order at least three cartridges at a time), so far,
my 8.5" x 11" prints are roughly $1.20 $1.80 for ink
my 13" x 19" are about $3.50 $5.50 for ink
(Printing in "Photo" mode puts your costs at the low end of the ranges. Printing in "Photo RPM" mode costs about 40% 50% more and puts you at the high end of the price ranges. I usually cannot distinguish between "Photo" and "Photo RPM" modes, so I almost always print in "Photo" mode. Occasionally, I notice banding or tones which do not appear smooth on very close inspection, then I switch to "Photo RPM.")
Warning: I believe ink use varies considerably with paper type. less ink for glossy, more ink for semi-gloss, and still more ink for matte and art paper. I'm not sure though.
I am printing on Inkpress Glossy paper (equivalent in weight, sheen, and brightness to Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper) which I ordered from B&H Photo. It's less expensive than Epson paper and looks spectacular.
In fact, I recently gave two 8x10's to a friend as a gift. She thought they looked wonderful and was astonished to learn that they were inkjet prints. She thought they must have been "professionally" printed at a lab. I was pretty flattered (credit to the printer, too, of course...) She also happens to be an artist and professional web designer, so she's got a fine eye.
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Update:
I've used the printer some more. I'm still very pleased. However, I've looked closer at the Inkpress paper I mentioned above. From a distance, it looks great, but closer up, it has many problems. Almost every sheet is covered with fine scratches, and about half the sheets have at least one major defect (some as large as 1/8" in diameter) where the gloss coating did not cover the paper. The defects are like little potholes on the surface. At first, I thought I had caused these problems through poor handling. Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy has an absolutely flawless surface, though, and I have handled the prints the same way. I don't recommend the Inkpress paper.
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