CompuServe Messages

Ah, I've been looking for someone who has been using the HP-500C or 550C with 3DS! I've been considering getting a color printer of some type to print out renderings from 3DS as samples, and wasn't sure which type of printer to go with. I have a color dot matrix (ugh!) that I don't use for this because of obvious reasons, but was curious about the image quality that the 550C puts out. I was hoping I could keep the cost of a color printer under $1K (it will take a while to save up this much <g>), and then later, when business starts getting lucrative (wishful thinking?) I could move up to a higher grade printer if necessary. So, how good are the images printed from the 500/550C? What type of paper is recommended for the best results? Are there any other color printers in the less-than-1K range that would create better images? As long as we are on the subject of printing and 3DS, I have another question. Currently, I have a Panasonic KXP-4420 laser printer. I was looking for a way that I could print out 3DS Mesh Files, for reference purposes and to use as development aids (ie: put notes on them so I can remember what materials or techniques I used when developing my images). I have Generic Cadd 2D, and hope to "transfer" to AutoCad LT when it becomes available. I tried saving a 3DS file as .DXF and then import it into both Corel Draw and Generic Cadd, but it was a no-go, probably because these are both 2D programs. Does anyone have any suggestions here?