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.
