First and foremost I would get one with individual ink colors that are replaceable so you only replace the color that is low rather than a three part cartridge. Second I would get one that is wireless if you have more than on computer in the home to access it. I prefer HP but there are many other quality brands. The all in one's are the only way to go. I have had one for years.

Buy an HP.

Many people find the color cartridges are used up even when mostly printing text.

That is because most printers use color ink when printing black.

So, if you are going to be printing mostly text, set your computer default to print gray scale.

You can always override the default to print color pictures, etc.

Before you buy any printer, check the price of replacement cartridges.

Some non-OEM on eBay (and other places) are about $1 ea. (not HP nor Lexmark)

http://www.megatoners.com

Consider a laser printer - do you really need colour? Much cheaper to run, and the cartridges don't dry out, which can happen before you've used up the ink. It might be worth considering something like a laser all in one, plus a separate one for colour, if you really need it.

Brand wise, I love my samsung laser, it's just a printer but it works great, the drivers are good and it's good to use.

I also have an hp all in one Officejet 7200. Hardware, good, but it did crap out under warranty, software in theory great (will allow you to scan direct to pdf if you're using a mac) but in practice, lots and lots of problems with hp drivers and the software, in my experience anyway, and this is my second hp AIO.

+1 on considering a laser printer if you're printing text almost exclusively (you can always go to a Kinko's or a photo place to print an excellent color file).

My brother uses a Brother that's quiet, prints cleanly, and doesn't double your printer investment when it's time to replace the toner cartridge.

If you do choose to buy an inkjet printer, I'd stay away from Lexmark and Dell models (Lexmark makes them for Dell). They tend to be noisy and replacement cartridges are surprisingly expensive.

+1 on the laser. I had an HP all in one, and while it worked well, I didn't print color often enough so that when I went to use color, the ink was dried out.

I found that printing photos was much cheaper to just put my digital photos on a memory card and printing them up at a local store. Printing 107 photos recently cost me about $21, which is still not as much as a new cartridge, and the pictures won't fade.

I put that aside, and now I use a Brother MFC-7420. I paid $199 at Office Depot, got a $70 mail-in rebate, so it came down to $129. Print, fax, flatbed copier & scanner... it does everything I need!

Here is a link that might be useful: MFC-7420 at Brother's Web Site