I honestly think that all of the well-known printers (the names have already been mentioned) are pretty much equal within a given price-range. What I mean to say is that if you buy a, say, $200 printer, it doesn't matter if it's an HP, Canon, Lexmark, Epson, whatever.
What I do know, though, is that I haven't bought replacement ink cartridges for years: We're to the point where printers are disposable because you can buy a new printer (with ink in the box) on special for less that you pay for the ink itself. It's bizarre, but that's the way it is. My last HP photo printer cost me $29 at Futureshop.
What does this mean? Well, to me it means that longevity, durability, etc., are no longer considerations when it comes to selecting a printer: I look for the loss-leaders and (perhaps irresponsibly, from a "Green" point of view) toss the old ones in the trash.
Cheers!
Gary (gonna go laser, soon, for document printing)