Digital BW, The Print

Hi

I had a chance to try an HP printer with the gray cart. for B&W 
photos, and I'm impressed with the quality of the images. My question 
is: I am starting to work with B&W printing and am trying to decide 
if I should buy an HP printer or go for a dedicated system (e.g., an 
Epson with a dedicated B&W ink set). I'm not concerned with the size 
of the paper the printer can handle but more in the quality of the 
final output. Would a system built around the Ultratone inks, for 
instance, provide you with a higher quality output? From what I've 
read, it seems there is more flexibility with some of the dedicated 
systems while HP seems more like an 'out of the box solution' that 
can provide a good quality print. I guess one of my goals is to 
experiment with B&W printing, much like I used to with darkroom work 
when I was younger (which seems a looong time ago right now)! 

THANKS in advance.

Michael