Epson launches an inkjet volley across HP's bow. (Epson Portland Inc.)

The latest shots in the worldwide color printer war were fired this week across the Columbia River, and the weapons were ink jets.

Epson Portland Inc. to the south and Hewlett-Packard Co. to the north in Vancouver each released new, locally built machines that promise to deliver photo quality images to home users and small businesses for prices between $220 and $450.

But marketing, rather than geography, is the real Mason-Dixon line in this battle.

"The image quality this generation of machines is achieving is outstanding under the right conditions," said Paula Bursely, a printer analyst with Dataquest Inc. of San Jose who has seen the new printers from both companies. "But …