I bought a Canon Pixma some years ago - probably the last model Canon Pixma that doesn't have chips in the ink cartridges. Apart from occasional cleaning of the heads when it hasn't been used for a while, it's done fine. It costs me about £5 for a set of cartridges from PrinterInks.com, and they last a couple of months or more. The colour quality is fine, and I haven't noticed any fading, apart from stuff that's left in direct sunlight.
A friend was impressed with mine, and ordered a Canon Pixma. She got a later one with chips in the inkpots, and was very unhappy when it came to buying new ink - at £70 to replace a set, where the printer cost about £65. The £70 set doesn't last any longer than my £5 set.
There's no way she's going to pay £70 for <£1 worth of ink, and she's too arthritic to refill the pots herself, so her poor brother has the job. What he says about Canon is not printable!
We're now both looking for a colour Laser printer that doesn't have ripoff prices for toner cartridges.