I just did a printer overview in Issue 4 on both the Epson R1800 and HP B9180 and there is a second portion to the article coming out in Vol 2 Issue 1, first part of next year. (the latter article is all about how these printers handle in the hands of a scrapbooker and how their prints hold up to our torture! heh)
I've been using (and have) both these printers. I like the HP for my photos. I use it more frequently for pure pictures but the Epson is all around designed more for the scrapbooker. I like them both. It would be hard for me to pick between the two personally but from your description for use I would recommend the R1800 from Epson.
You can adjust the paper size on both printers so you can do as little as 4x6's all the way up to the larger sizes. Epson sells scrapbookers "paper" in 12x12 so you don't have to deal with cutting, etc. They also have paper intended for printing on both sides.
I've run a number of materials through the printers as well so you aren't limited to paper.
I'd recommend that whatever you do you plan to keep around your 'older' printer for doing word-docs, etc and save the large format printer for the scrapbooking stuff.
You can look for refurbished models to get a lower price or hunt for the discount sites as well. The printers are a big ticket item but in the end the convience is well worth the price.
Hope that helps and be sure to check out the articles in Vol 1 issue 4 and Vol 2 issue 1
