For most intents and purposes, I'd recommend using pdfTeX instead of TeX: your general output format is LCD, not paper, and Metafont renders pixel fonts, not vector fonts (because TeX's output format after all is paper, not screen).

Also, I found that using the LaTeX macros simplified my life a lot, instead of trying to reinvent the same formats over and over again. Why do you use just TeX instead of LaTeX?