Patent ID: 7375836

Claim:
A first copy machine configured to: determine a set of one or more resources that are both external to the first copy machine and available to process one or more portions of a copy job initiated at the first copy machine; display, on a graphical user interface of the first copy machine, one or more user interface objects that indicate one or more functions provided by the one or more resources, wherein the one or more user interface objects include at least a first user interface object that is associated with a particular function that (a) the first copy machine is not configured to provide and (b) at least one of the one or more resources is configured to provide; detect user selection of the first user interface object from the one or more user interface objects; send a first portion of a copy job, which first portion requires the particular function, to be printed by a first resource that is (1) associated with the first user interface object, (2) capable of providing the particular function, and (3) capable of printing the first portion of the copy job; and print, locally, a second portion of the copy job, which second portion does not require the particular function; wherein the first resource is one of: (i) a second copy machine per se, and (ii) a printer per se.