New photo printer

I want to replace my old HP PhotoSmart 7150 with something smaller,
neater, a built-in scanner, and very importantly, better output.

The PhotoSmart's OK, but not brilliant.

The model I was considering was the Canon Pixma MP970, but I'm not
really up-to-date with printing.

Are the latest dye-based inks significantly better than they were five
years ago? Is it worth trying to find something that uses pigment-based
inks?

Is the number-of-ink-colours (7 in the MP970) a pointless bragging game
between manufacturers?

Thanks for any suggestions. I hope to get better and more consistent
prints from now on.

Daniele