So I picked up a used Epson 1400 printer the other day for pretty cheap, and last night I finally got to sit down and make a series of proofs with a variety of different settings. It took me a couple evenings to understand how to calibrate my monitor, and this site was very helpful, http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/. Step by step, I followed all of the monitor calibration steps. To adjust the gamma on my monitor I used quickgamma, available for free here, http://quickgamma.de/indexen.html. Then I started printing 5x7 pages with 4 different photos on each page, each a different type or main color picture. I kept notes on what settings I was using, and zeroed in on one that is pretty damn close to what I see on the screen in Lightroom.
The key for me was discovering the proper profile in LR for the paper I was using. For my purposes, I was printing with Epson "Premium Photo Paper, Glossy". The package for the paper indicates that it used to be called "Premium Glossy Photo Paper." This is important because I did not find a profile for "Premium photo paper, glossy", but I did find one for "Premium Glossy Photo Paper", it is noted as "SP1400 1410 PGPP" in the list of profiles. Before finding that profile, I was getting better results from printer managed, color controls, epson standard, gamma 1.8. And the results were pretty good, but once I found the right paper profile, and started using LR to manage the color, the proof sheet started coming out very good. I then made a series of 5x7 prints of those same 4 images I used to proof, and I'll be damned if they didn't look great!
It took me 7 or 8 different iterations to find what I really liked, but it was worth it, as I am very satisfied with the results. I have some 8.5x11 and 13x19 paper coming in the mail now that I know this thing works well, and I can't wait to make some larger prints!
End Blog. Hope this helps someone else printing.