Digital BW, The Print

> $650 which I probably will do. In additition, I need a new camera 
> (DSLR) instead of just using my old film (Minolta) camera all the 
> time. 

If you're willing to venture outside Canon/Nikon offerings, the K100D
from Pentax is an excellent value. B&H has body-only with 2Gb SD card
for about $430 after $50 mail-in rebate.

I have the now-discontinued K110D. If you use RAW capture mode, you
can get results every bit as good as Canon/Nikon 6mp/8mp offerings. I
love Pentax's 50/1.4 lens too. 

While I'm plugging non-mainstream alternatives, look into Bibble for
Raw processing and Picture Window Pro for image editting.

Last thought: If you don't need to print larger than letter size, the
Epson C88 is an excellent value, especially when used with MIS inks
(either for B&W or color printing).