I have used Lexmark for years. A lot of people complain about them. But my three previous (to the Epson I have now) were real workhorses. My real problem with them was ink usage. Ieven tried the cartridge refills at the office supply places and Walgreens, but it was still steep. And you were never guaranteed that the person who refilled them, reset the chips. The chips are really important. Almost all printer ink cartridges are measured by the page counts - not weight of the cartridge (which would make sense). The chip resets the counter and it goes so many pages of printing for which ever cartridge you filled.
When my last Lexmark was fried by a lightening strike (DH thought that it was protected because it was on a surge protector - but the lightening struck through the phone line - not happening again) I started looking. Like you, I have a 'business' that I run also - rescuing small animals. So I needed more than just the 'basics'.
I have the Epson WorkForce 310. And I love it! I was just saying to DH how much I love all of the bells and whistles yesterday. 4-in-1, great copying and scanning - even with the fabrics to go into EQ7 - really nice colors. I use it to print some quilt labels and pictures and have had no issues.
One of the reasons that I purchased my Epson was that I discovered that Epson was one of the manufacturers that has non-OEM cartridges with the reset-able chip available. I purchase my ink from an independent dealer and the first purchase - which included the refillable/reset-able cartridges and bottles of the various colors of ink - cost me less than $45, including shipping. And that original order of ink lasted me almost as entire year. The black supply had to be refilled after about 10 months, but I expected that. And I just purchased more ink - 5 100ml bottles (2 blacks, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 red) - and that total cost was less than $20. LOVE THOSE PRICES. The inks are the pigment dyes which are the ones you want for fabric printing. OH and refilling the cartridges are really easy to refill. These are designed to be refilled, unlike some refill kits where they have YOU drill a hole in your cartridge and then fill with a needle and syringe. These have a color coded rubber stoppers and the tip of the bottle fits in the hole exactly. SO EASY!!!!!
And the other really huge thing for me with the Epson, is that the paper track is straight and through - no bending and turning and stuff like my Lexmarks. The direct feed is SO much better. I can handle just about anything without having paper jams - photo paper (of all sizes and the pictures are fabulous), fabric sheets, cardstock, transparancies and labels. The only think that I have had problems with fee issues where the Christmas card stock that I tried to use this year. It had a pebble finish and the rollers just didn't want to grab it and go.
Sorry for the 'book' but you asked [shrug]. I know that you are in Canada so your prices will vary, but the model that I have can be picked up just about anywhere - Staples, OfficeMax, etc. - for less than $100. I found it on sale when I bought it and it was $85 two years ago. Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide.