1. A method for operating a multifunction document processing system, the method comprising: operating the document processing system in a low power mode; detecting a first user input to the system at a first time while the document processing system remains in the low power mode; in response to the first user input, prompting a user for further input while keeping the document processing system in the low power mode; where prompting the user for further input comprises prompting the user to select full or partial functionality while keeping the document processing system in the low power mode; if no further user input is received within a first predetermined time from the first time, keeping the document processing system in the low power mode; and if a second user input is received within the first predetermined time from the first time, initializing at least one power consuming document processing component of the system to perform at least one user-directed document processing task; further comprising: if a second user input is received within the first predetermined time from the first time indicating user selection of partial functionality, initializing one or more power consuming document processing components necessary to perform a user-directed document processing task indicated by the second user input while keeping at least one power consuming document processing component at low or zero power.