Canon i9900 on closeout at this time for about $400 or less, but you will
have to move fast to get one. There are compatable carts available, but
you will have a more predictable compatable ink if you learn to refill the
carts. Easy to do, very little mess that can be easily contained, and
about one-tenth the cost of Canon inks. They produce beautiful prints,
but there is more tendancy for images to fade over time when exposed to UV
light. The ink sets that have been used successfully by participants on
this NG are from Alotofthings (formulabs inks), MIS, and Hobbicolors.
I've also used Computer Friends inks on a Canon ip5000 printer with
excellent results.