well without anyone giving me any clear advice about what espon printer to get, i get the overall impression from these forums that maybe a canon is better. Im in the US, so i'll have to mod it and get a tray. But my question is what's the difference between a canon ip4200 and an ip4300?

I know the 4300 is new and i believe has more nozzles, but what is the quality difference on cd/dvd printing? And does one have cheaper ink that the other? Ive heard from different sources about these 'chips' that restrict 3rd party inks. Is that true with both?
Thanks

Either one is quite capable...I would go to Canon and call up the spec sheets on both, then compare.
As you state, they both use chipped carts but there are work-arounds for refilling. Check Nifty-Stuff forum for particulars.
The most desirable Canons are iP3000, iP4000, iP5000, iP6000D, iP8500 and a couple others in that family. Downside...out of production.
Performance is superb and they are among the easiest to re-fill (pre-chip).
I found my 5000 NIB on eBay and my 3000 and 4000 were purchased used, locally.
Everyone has to have an AIO, so these beauties come up for sale from time to time

I believe that the IP4200 had some issues and was quickly replaced by the 4300. I'd go with the 4300.