Digital BW, The Print

I've finally gotten around to scanning some of my 4x5 negatives, and I 
wonder what ppi I should send to the printer. Given the large size of my 
files, I could send a 720 ppi file without resizing, but some think that 
this leads to a drop in quality.  For example, In Real World Photoshop 
CS2, Bruce Fraser and David Blatner say, "It's certainly possible to 
send too much data to an inkjet printer, not only increasing print times 
unconsciously but also degrading the image. You do not want to send a 
1440-ppi image to a 1440 dpi inkjet." (p843.)  I seem to remember them 
saying that 720 ppi is too much as well.  They recommend 480 ppi for 
small prints, and 360 or 240 for large one.  To meet this requirement, 
I'd have to significanly down-sample my files, at least with my R2400. 
Anyone have any thoughts on this?