Patent ID: 7102778

Claim:
A method of selecting a printer from a plurality of printers to fulfill a print job of a user, the method comprising: receiving a print request for the print job from the user at one of the printers; after receiving the print request, the one of the printers automatically distributing the print request for the print job from the one of the printers to at least another of the printers associated with the one of the printers; after distributing the print request, determining at the one of the printers and at the at least another of the printers, respectively, whether the one of the printers has a printing capability to fulfill the print job and whether the at least another of the printers has a printing capability to fulfill the print job, including comparing the print request for the print job with the printing capability of the one of the printers and the printing capability of the at least another of the printers; and submitting a print offer to the user from the one of the printers for the one of the printers to print the print job if the one of the printers has the printing capability to fulfill the print job and a print offer to the user from the at least another of the printers for the at least another of the printers to print the print job if the at least another of the printers has the printing capability to fulfill the print job.