Thank you everyone for your comments, suggestions and guidance.
I'm happy to say I picked up my 4880 yesterday from Calumet. I've got to say the team at Calumet was really great to work with; in particular my salesperson (Zane) in Chicago was really helpful.
For those of you thinking about getting the 4880 and concerned about the size of the box; see below.
I was a bit intimidated by everyones comments about picking up the printer myself, but really was not bad at all.
You do not need to take the pallet with you; I left it at Calumet. Zane and I carried the box down the back loading ramp and slid it into the back of my Honda CR-V; into which it easily fit. Once we got it home, my wife and I easily lifted it out of the CR-V and onto the ground. I then used a handcart to wheel it into the house. Although, I think my wife and I could just have easily carried it. There are two really good plastic handles on each side to facilitate carrying the box.
As far as the whole deal went; here's what I did:
Printer was $1799
I purchased an additional 3 year warranty (total of 4 years now) for $89.99
With tax and everything; my total was $2,102.
My choices for the Epson "March Madness" paper deal was:
1 roll of Epson Ultrasmooth Fine Art paper; 17"x50'
2 boxes of Epson Exhibition Fiber 17"x22"
Total value of paper was: $400
I also bought a of the Premium Lustre 16"x100' out-of-pocket for $90 (tax and all).
Using the financing from Calumet through GE; I also have 3 months to pay for the printer with no interest.
So I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out.
I'm off to IKEA today to pick up the table that someone recommended as I think it will provide a decent place to store some paper and prints.
Now I'll have to re-watch "From Camera to Print" again to figure out exactly what I'll need to do. LOL
I'm also going to take a look at a simple mat cutter today as well. Now I need to figure out, based on the size of my available paper, margins (I'm thinking about always leaving a 1 inch all the way around the printed surface), amount of mat I want showing, size of plastic bags to fit these, etc. Much more work to go before I even do my first print!
Thanks again folks!
Todd