I've always used Epson printers and for the money and quality they are the best in my opinion. The Epson 1200 for example is phenomenal. It uses 6 ink cartridges to give you the best color possible in a consumer inkjet plus you can get some cool papers for them(The downside is that you would have to change cartridges more often-- cartridges=$$) Plus you can print up to 13x44 if you want! However if $500 is too much, any other Epson below that would be fine.

(I am not an employee of Epson nor do I have any interest whatsoever in Epson Inc. : )