So this proves out that printing photos is usually cheaper using a service but what you may not realize is that your better off getting a cheap laser printer (either monochrome or color) for normal jobs as well. The ink never goes bad and overall cost per sheet is much less.
I went with the Canon ImageClass MF634Cdw mostly for the document scanning capability but there are a lot of other alternatives that are better than the typical All In Once Inkjets.
Source: Which is Cheaper: Printing Your Own Photos or Using a Printing Service?