UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen) is the public organisation in the Netherlands responsible for implementing employee insurance schemes and providing social security services.
Its primary focus is on supporting individuals in the labour market, whether by helping them find work, offering reintegration services, or providing benefits when employment is not possible.
Operating a dedicated, in-house print centre to manage all its outgoing customer communications, UWV prints around 2.5 million A4 pages each month.
Despite the growing importance of digital communication, printed materials remain essential to UWV's operations. Many of its customers still prefer printed communications, may have limited access to digital technology, or may face language barriers.
UWV partners with Canon to transform its customer communications
Learn how Canon helped Dutch governmental body UWV overhaul its customer communications by moving from black and white to full-colour printing, boosting engagement while reducing costs and environmental impact.
Watch: UWV and Canon case study
Hans Kop, Team Manager, Print Centre, UWV, talks through UWV’s partnership with Canon, and how Canon’s technology has helped to transform UWV’s print operations.
UWV’s key objectives for the partnership
Objective #1: Improve engagement via better customer communications
UWV needed to communicate more effectively with a diverse audience, including many non-native Dutch speakers and citizens with varying literacy levels.
The organisation was looking to improve the clarity and accessibility of its communications through more visual elements and colour, particularly for recipients with limited Dutch language skills, along with QR codes linking to translated content.
Objective #2: Rapidly adopt a dynamic full-colour workflow
A significant challenge was the transition from black and white printing on pre-printed stationery to a full-colour workflow on plain white paper.
This required redesigning numerous templates that had originally been formatted for border-to-border printing, which was estimated to take two to three years.
Objective #3: Reduce costs and environmental impact
UWV sought to reduce its environmental footprint by eliminating the waste generated from trimming the SRA4 paper required for the pre-printed stationery.
By using a standard A4 paper workflow and redesigning the templates, UWV aimed to decrease both costs and environmental impact. UWV also wanted a solution that would be both space- and energy-efficient.
Why Canon
The relationship between UWV and Canon dates to 2008, when UWV first selected Canon through a European tender. Canon's winning proposition included three monochrome varioPRINT 6250 printers, and Quadient Inspire software to manage document templates. This software became key to UWV's document creation process, speeding up the processing of customer communications templates.
Based on the exceptional reliability and performance of the varioPRINT systems, which remained operational for an impressive ten-year period, UWV continued to strengthen its partnership with Canon.
So when the time came to update its printing technology in 2022, UWV took the decision to move from black and white printing on pre-printed stationery to full-colour printing on standard paper, and invested in five Canon imagePRESS V1000 colour toner presses with PRISMAsync controllers, as well as a colorWAVE T65 for large format printing.
"To improve our customer communications capabilities, we made an investment in five imagePRESS V1000 colour printers."
Close cooperation delivers the optimal outcome
After carefully assessing the toner and inkjet options available on the market, and jointly conducting a thorough evaluation with Canon at the Canon's Customer Experience Center in Venlo, UWV decided that the toner-based imagePRESS V1000 was the best match for its requirements in terms of print volume, footprint and energy consumption.
The compact imagePRESS V1000 also offers exceptional media flexibility, great image quality, and reliable performance, making it ideal for UWV's production environment.
The workflow begins with document creation in Canon PRISMAprepare and Quadient Inspire. Output management is controlled through PRISMAproduction, which automates data conversion, pre-press tasks and print production processes. PRISMAproduction provides complete control over all applications and directs print jobs to each of the five imagePRESS V1000 colour printers with their PRISMAsync controllers.
Initially, some pre-printed forms based on the original templates had to be printed with a bleed on larger SRA4 sized paper, requiring trimming. The initial estimate suggested that redesigning these templates would take two to three years. Working closely with Canon, UWV managed to complete the redesign of the templates in around five months.
"I can easily get access to Canon people, whether that is on the sales side or on the service side. We also have good agreements for preventative maintenance, so we benefit from maintenance at a regular time of our choosing rather than unexpected service interventions."
Benefits of the UWV and Canon partnership
UWV’s transition to Canon colour toner technology has delivered substantial benefits across multiple areas.
Enhanced communication effectiveness
Full-colour printing has dramatically improved the engagement and comprehension of UWV's communications.
Visual elements and QR codes now enable non-Dutch speakers to access information in their native languages, making communications accessible to all citizens, particularly those with limited Dutch language proficiency.
Reliable operational efficiency
UWV's five identical imagePRESS V1000 configurations can print around 500 pages per minute, enabling them to handle their daily volume of 144,000 impressions within a 5-6 hour production window.
Canon's preventative maintenance programme has significantly reduced unexpected downtime, allowing UWV to maintain their production schedules without interruption.
Streamlined workflow integration
The entire solution – from PRISMAprepare file creation and Inspire template management to PRISMAproduction output management and PRISMAremote Manager monitoring – provides a seamless end-to-end workflow.
This integration allows UWV to efficiently manage the entire production process, ensuring consistency and quality across all communications.
Reduced environmental impact
The elimination of pre-printed stationery and the transition to standard A4 paper has generated significant cost savings, as A4 paper is less expensive than specialised SRA4 stock.
Additionally, by eliminating the trimming process previously required for oversized paper, UWV has reduced paper waste by over 15%, supporting its sustainability goals.
Future-ready partnership
The collaboration with Canon positions UWV for continued innovation in their customer communications strategy.
As they complete the transition from pre-printed stationery to fully digital colour printing, UWV can continue to enhance their communications with even more personalised and visually engaging content.
Comprehensive service and support
Throughout the installation of the solution and since, UWV has been impressed by the support provided by Canon.
The four-hour on-site service agreement ensures rapid response to any issues, while weekly preventative maintenance sessions minimise unexpected interruptions. This service model has proved particularly valuable for UWV's high-volume production environment.
“UWV and Canon: partners in colour communication.” – Hans Kop
Looking to the future, UWV continues to focus on optimising its customer communications, supported by Canon's ongoing commitment to technological innovation and customer success. As government services continue to evolve, the ability to provide clear, accessible and engaging printed communications remains essential, and UWV is well-positioned to meet these needs through its partnership with Canon.
Related solutions
Learn more about Canon’s technology.
imagePRESS V1000
Expand your revenue streams with high productivity and outstanding media versatility in a compact digital colour press.
colorWAVE T-series
This large format colour printer with proven CrystalPoint technology for CAD/GIS, technical documents and posters offers a solution you can build on for the years ahead.
PRISMAproduction
Streamline workflows and accelerate production efficiency with the high-performance workflow and output management platform PRISMAproduction.
PRISMAprepare
Accelerate document preparation and printing process with this all-in-one make-ready solution.
Quadient Inspire
A fully integrated, any-premise enterprise solution that helps improve customer communications.
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