I finally gave up trying to keep a printer at home. I only use it once in a blue moon and the ink always dries out. My boss doesn't mind me printing at work the little I do print. I would rather buy a ream of paper for work occasionally than keep investing in printers I don't use. I can always print at Office Depot or other outfits also.
The first part, ink drying out, is why I recommend a laser. Toner doesn't dry out. It might go bad over a long enough period, but in most environments and most types, that's measured in years. Just unplug when not in use. Another possibility is the solid ink printers - the ink is a wax, not a liquid.
I bought my printer because I was retiring and would no longer have steady access to a printer at work. I can print at school now, but I needed something. 99% of my prints are B&W. I don't really need color. I only got a color laser because it was on special for less than the target black only laser.
If you want to print something that exceeds your ability - whether that be color, photo-ink, or even just something bigger than 8.5 by 11, by all means, hire a print shop to do it. Their prices are reasonable in that respect. Sure, it might be a couple more bucks than the ink and paper used directly in the project, but you're not using $1 of ink in the print job, you're using $100 because your ink dries out between print jobs and cartridges are only good for a couple print jobs, on average. Also, rather than having the cost of the machine be a side note, if you only get 100 jobs out of a $500 printer, that's $5 in cost per job.
