The last two printers I bought (sub $100 each) had WiFi and just required being unpackaged and plugged in before Linux found and used them over the network. This was probably via CUPS, but as a user I clicked on something like "Print" -> "Add a Printer" -> "Network" -> "Scan" and then hit "Next" a couple times. I use gnome3 and either Fedora or Ubuntu. Basic printing without driver preinstall has been solved for a decade at least.

I do not print stuff very often, but in my experience CUPS has been way easier to get along with than Windows' printing subsystem.

Not to speak of LPR (which does have the advantage of not having to set up anything printer-specific on the client, but it is a pain to set up on the server).

If you can plug in an Ethernet cable, that's all that's needed. It automatically appears in your print dialog (at least on OS X).

For wifi all you need is to enter the wifi password.