Have you considered using a print service or a dedicated dye-sub printer for photo (assuming 6x9") ?
I've pretty much given up with inkjet photo printers now...the last good one I had was an elderly photosmart 1215 that used the same carts as some of HP's plotters so was pretty cheap to run (they were huge compared to modern carts)
I think the ink prices are pretty much bad across the board otherwise. Epson I have had nothing but trouble with blocked nozzles and ink wasting cleaning sessions on every power cycle YMMV
Then if you don't need photo have you looked at cheap colour lasers...the consumables prices are scary per cart but tend to work out ok per page and there is no cleaning cycle or blockages through lack of use.
Personally I run a 2nd hand xerox workgroup grade colour laser...it costs £150 to refill with copy toner but that lasts an honest 6000 pages so the cost per print is excellent, it's network and proper postscript and there are xerox drivers available for Linux. If you were looking at entry level colour lasers then I think Brother and Samsung are good bets (for linux friendliness and consumables cost) just watch for any other consumables they might need (lasers can have a multitude of other consumables like drum/transfer units) but modern entry level is better in this respect.
Then if I really need a photo right away then I use a canon CP760 which compares well to a inkjet at 18p a print inc photo paper (it's a fixed cost regardless of page coverage due to the way a dye-sub uses the dry transfer ink) and prints better than the general highstreet photo service and certainly better than any inkjet I have seen. No linux compatibility but it can print from flash media so I just copy the pics on there and go. It may be that your only colour requirement is for photo in which case you could even consider a b/w laser for regular printing.