Recommendations for a printer under $500

I don't own a printer myself, but my wife's printer is in need of replacement, and she has asked me to research a decent wireless printer for her for $500 or less. Must be wireless, and if possible, print an 11x17. Anyone have any experiences or recommendations?

Thanks
Tim

I will assume then that what she is after does not exist. While she would like better photo print quality, it will likely have to be something like the cheap Canon Pixma MX882 for $149. The Canon Pixma Pro 9000 MK II at $429 would be the perfect choice, but it is not wireless, and there doesn't appear to be any wireless printers of this quality (that I can find).

Tim - You can get a wireless print server that will put the printer on your wireless network via it's USB cable. They range from $25 to about $100 depending on model and features.

I'd suggest that exact Canon, with a print server like this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833130079

Thanks very much David . . . I did not know about that option. So can you explain a little more about how it works. Right now we have a linksys wireless router that our laptops and her iMac link up to for wireless internet, etc. BUT my PC does not have a wireless card, so I have to be hard wired to the router with my PC for internet access. Will I be able to get access to the printer using that wireless system you link to, if I am hard wired to our router? Or will it even be using our current router at all? The main reason we want a wireless printer is so I can do occasional basic print jobs from my PC.

Tim - Using a wireless print server will place the printer on your network - you plug the printer USB into it, and it's essentially a wireless card for your printer. I haven't used a setup like this in a while, but basically (in Windows anyway) you'll simply add a network printer, and you should be able to see the printer that's connected to the wireless print server. It shouldn't matter whether you're plugged into the router, or wireless - it will be visible either way, as it's all the same network once you get past the wireless/wired connection.

Here's a short description of using one.

Also, if you want to eliminate hardware, I think you can get a combination wireless router/print server as well. But it will be more expensive.

I have had luck with getting used printers from wealthy print freaks who upgrade at every chance. They often dump their old hardware for a fraction of the cost and include a ton of free ink and paper.

Ended up just getting the cheaper Canon MG5220 printer/scanner and she is very happy with it.