I use an Epson too, and I'm very happy with it. Its an Epson Stylus Photo R285 and was under £70 ($120???).
I did experiment to see whether I could use generic ink cartridges, but found that I really did get the best quality with own-brand, especially for blended colours like brown. The black ink is the only one I really can buy generic.
I bought the printer from Amazon as it was on sale - so do check them out for bargins 'cos the do cycle round. I also found my ink cartridge supplier via Amazon - its one of the shops that use Amazon for advertising. I regularly do 'price checks' to make sure I'm getting a good deal as there are so many suppliers of genuine brands that you can definitely save money by shopping around.
I use regular paper, t-shirt transfer paper and card - my card is quite thick (300gsm) and the printer copes with it without difficulty. Photos print beautifully too. Plus I can use different sized paper and print onto CD's (but I've not tried this function yet).
As Deanna said, just ask if you want more info
