I've also spent many years in IT support and related fields.
First of all you asked about a color laser printer. In my experience you really don't need to go to that expense (and it is expensive) unless you are in publishing, printing, advertising, or some other high profile industry that demands the absolute best quality.
You can get good print quality from almost any inkjet brand but most manufacturers really soak you on the consumables. That is why you can get a new printer for $99 or sometimes even for free when you buy some other gadget. They know you will make it up to them shortly when you have to buy ink. Personally I avoid brands like HP and Brother for this reason. I also have experienced compatibility issues with Epson but to be fair that was quite a few years ago.
For the past several years I have only used Canon Pixma series color printers. They have individual color cartridges and two different black inks. This means that when you run out of magenta (for example) you only replace the magenta cartridge for $10-$12 instead of replacing a multi color cartridge for $40+ that still has unused blue and yellow ink in it. Canon also has good customer service in my experience.
I also use an HP desktop laser printer for black only document printing. You can usually find one of these used for very little money. This is much cheaper than using the black inkjet ink in the long run since a toner cartridge will last the average person for years.
If money is no object I also have used the xerox phaser printers at my office. They are VERY pricey to buy and operate but the print quality is beautiful.
As a final thought, you may want to consider having your business cards, brochures etc printed for you by a company like Vistaprint. Their quality is excellent and you could likely spend less money in the long run and have less printing headaches. They do offer coupons and other incentives... especially once you place an order with them.
ETA:
I know some other companies have started using individual ink cartridges for each color so I'm not ONLY recommending Canon... but a while back they were the only ones available. However some of the other companies models can also require frequent print head replacements which are rarely needed with the Canons.
HTH
