My recommendations...
Despite having been a graphic artists for over 25 years - I rely on a PC and always have. Mac was thing in school, but never in my workspace, always PC. Up to you on preference between the two.
Regarding printers - I run a digital printing studio (Gamer Printshop), though Inkjet printers do a nice job, its only good for onesy-twosey printing, not for mass printing. As Redrobes said, if you're going for color, you're best off with a color laser printer, or color copier (though that's too expensive for most.)
If you're planning to create maps sold in bookshops across Europe as you say, you're best off not printing yourself, but relying on a professional printer. Here in the US, I've got resources for printing in the thousands, by industry printers. That is printing press companies that offer volume printing at discounts specifically for lesser printing companies like me. An order of 8.5 x 11 at a minimum of 1000 prints is about $.10 per sheet - a price I can't match myself.
Compare this to printing on your own inkjet printer and you're talking $.50 per sheet, at four minutes to print and you'll run out of ink before your 150th print.
The printing I do is onesy-twosey, so inkjet is just fine for me, I wouldn't mass produce myself, if that was my business model. I'd farm it out.
If you're talkin' large format map printing, still farm it out, but you'll need a specialty printer and that's going to cost you more bucks up front - so you'd better have your market well studied and that its worth doing, cause if you don't you'll lose your shirt and go bankrupt.
Find a print shop in Europe, that will give you a price for jobbed out printing at an industy printing press, with a minimum of 1000 pieces - that's your best bet for getting your products to all those book shops you mention.
Good luck on your endeavors!
GP
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