I need to buy a multifunction (a.k.a. all-in-one) unit for my office. This will need to have all the usual things like scanning, copying, and printing; but also, I will sporadically need to make the best photo prints I can get from this device. I've been very impressed by the performance of the $150-or-so units like the Canon MX700, but don't know how good the photos from those are. Cheaper is better, but I could go up as far as $250-$300 without too much stress.
Can anyone recommend a good multifunction unit with good photo quality?
I've been using Canon MP610 and I'm also impressed by it's quality. Even at full letter the size the resolution is great and color is on the spot. Very fast, very quiet. The printer driver is very, very good with Canon's paper. Actually, I prefer printing using the printer driver rather than Photoshop. Doesn't like other papers than Canon's, may be using profiles would help.
Its all-in-one capabilities are also very good. Text printing is very fast and crisp using the Black cartridge. The scan resolution is also good.
A very good all in one that can be had cheap right now is the Epson Artisan 800, which is available direct from Epson for $150. It's been replaced by the Artisan 810, which is why there are real bargains available on the older model. If you choose it make sure to use Epson paper for the best results until you know of other brands that do as well. I've recently added an R2880 and have been testing several settings & monitor adjustments trying to match things and yesterday I think I got it all matched together enough to suit my needs. 4 X 6's from both machings (printed in aRGB) match the monitor & each other much better than I expected.
EDIT Additional recommendation re this printer
If you buy one of these the ink cartridges are "sample size" as the store salesman called them, so it's a good idea to buy a full set of replacements at the same time.
 they're a little better. Per-Print costs go up with more cartridges and prints get a little slower but it's closer to )