I have a couple of questions that I hope you can all help me with.
I have a new iMac and I recently installed Snow Leopard on it.

(1) how can I get the iMac to recognize my existing printer (Epson Photo Stylus 1280)? The printer was recognized by the previously factory-installed OS, but the printer utilities have suddenly disappeared and when I try to print something, the only peripheral recognized by SL is my scanner.

(2) When using Time Machine, where do desktop items and folders end up on the backup drive?

The original SL distribution seemed to be missing support for many printers, which was subsequently fixed via updates. So make sure all the system updates have been installed, then connect your printer. It should auto-detect.

Open Finder and select Desktop from the list on the left. All desktop icons and folders will now appear in the Finder window. Now enter TimeMachine.