Why two different yields?
Because a document and a photo do not use the same thing. The stated 3,600 pages apply to ordinary text, with low ink coverage. A photo print covers the whole sheet: the 2,100 10 × 15 photos from a full set correspond to about six fully inked A4 pages. On this machine, built for photography, it is the second figure that describes real use.
In practice: the colours empty before the black, and the two light shades before the other four, since they serve only in gradients and skin tones. A replacement set is almost never a full set of six. The L805, built on the same six-ink principle, behaves in exactly the same way.
Do PVC cards change anything?
The L8050 prints on PVC cards, which very few tank machines can do. Its inks are dye based, dissolved rather than pigmented: they give brighter colours on glossy photo paper, but they dry by absorption. On a non-porous medium such as PVC, drying is slower — leave the card flat for a few minutes before stacking it or slipping it into a badge holder.
That also explains the quoted speeds: 22 pages per minute in draft mode, but 8 pages per minute to the ISO standard, and far fewer on a full-page photo print.
Does it need to be used regularly?
Yes, more so than a four-ink machine. Six tanks means six circuits to keep moist; several weeks idle and the machine runs a cleaning cycle that draws on every one of them. One colour page a week is enough to avoid it and costs vastly less than the cleaning it prevents.
A fleet of printers to keep supplied?
We draw up the list of consumables for your whole fleet and a single grouped quote. Invoice in your company's name with its ICE number, delivery anywhere in Morocco.