There are several solutions: If you have a need for high volume and do not need color...definately go with a HP Laser printer. NOT a low end, but definately mid priced. It will last a good 5-10 years without major problems, and the toner cartridges are super easy to change and last for months and months.
If you need color...that's more complicated. I've had 4 different color printers. All fairly good. However, if you do not print out more than 1 page now and then, do NOT get an Epson, or any other printer with refillable tanks. They clog up and it takes forever to unclog them. Often you have to replace the printer (that's why I've had 4!) entirely, since the print head is so clogged with dry ink. Unclogging it is messy too. My current color printer is PERFECT. I can print one page a month, or 50 pages a day without any problems....it's a CANON S630, and I highly recommend it, or a model comperable. It's easy to use, easy to add ink, one color at a time (cheap too), and reliable. Don't get the cheapest...you get what you pay for.
Why? Because the newer printers are seperating the ink tanks and the printer heads, and introducing pressure in-between the ink tanks and the printer heads. In the HP designjet 500 not only are the ink tanks and the printer heads in seperate places, but they are both replaceable! This really makes maintenance easy, and gives me the best of all possible worlds, a pressurized ink system to prevent clogging, and removable print heads if they ever do clog beyond the point where the printer can clear itself.
Technology marches on. Just wanted to give you the update on the latest and greatest.