Digital BW, The Print

Hello, I would like to do some color next to my 1160 UT setup. 

I am essentially a b&w photographer, but sometimes some color would 
also be nice. I would like to print on EAM and semigloss papers: will 
the 1280 (1290 here in Europe) be a good choice? Does it print on 
Epson archival matte paper? On the Epson site only Matte heavyweight 
is mentioned.

Another question: Which would be the least expensive high quality 
third party solution for the 1290? MIS or Generations?

And if ever I get another printer for color I could get a CFS and UT 
for the 1290 - sometimes I feel that the quality of the 1160 
is "only" 90% or 95% of the ideal maximum quality and smoothness.

Thanks for any input. The archival color list is not very active...

regards Bernhard