Look, here's the deal with Epson vs. Canon. Up until Canon came out with the i-series printers a couple of years ago, Epson photo printers were the best mainstream choice for color photo printers. However, Epson printers have always had the problem of head-clogging if they are left too long without being used (10 days or so). Canon printers do not have this problem because the print heads are part of the cartridge itself, not the printer. The Canon i860 and i960 are every bit as good as the 800 and 900 series Epson printers. I'm not sure about the new R200 and R300, though -- I haven't had the chance to evaluate those yet. HP supposedly has some nice offerings, but to tell you the truth, I haven't considered an HP in years because every one I ever owned eventually developed serious paper feed problems that I couldn't resolve. They probably don't have these same problems anymore, but there's a sour taste in my mouth from them and the competitors have surpassed them long ago.
In any case, you can get superb photos from either the Epson or Canon printers. Don't forget that the paper quality plays a huge role in the quality and long life of your prints.