Spector & Co Scales Premium Promotional Products Decoration with Direct-to-Object Technology

In today’s promotional products market, customers are looking for more than functional branded merchandise. Brands increasingly want products that feel premium and personal, making decoration quality a crucial part of the overall product experience.

A report from ASI Research found that 74% of international consumers say they would keep an item because it is useful, which helps explain why brands are leaning toward retail-style products that people would actually buy for themselves over novelty giveaways. For Spector & Co, a Montreal-based trade supplier of promotional products including journals, pens, bags, drinkware, and lifestyle products for brands, marketers, and organizations across North America, this shift has made it more important than ever to deliver greater visual impact, enhanced customization, and high-quality finishes across an increasingly diverse product range.

Straightforward logo application on a product is often no longer enough. To remain competitive and meet evolving customer expectations, every finished product must deliver a clean, professional, and consistent appearance. Seeking to expand and modernize its digital decoration platform, Spector & Co turned to direct-to-object (DTO) technology, which offered the flexibility, consistency, and production performance needed to meet these evolving customer expectations.

Investing in the Next Generation of Decoration

Delivering high-quality decoration at scale while keeping production efficient can be a challenge. For Spector & Co, direct-to-object printing offered the opportunity to expand what was possible without compromising quality or workflow. As demand grew for higher quality, retail-inspired decoration, Spector & Co invested in Inkcups technology to complement its existing decoration capabilities, identifying Inkcups as a "natural partner” in the company’s evolution.

Alan Meinstein, CEO, Spector & Co, explains: “Traditional methods are very effective, but they can have limitations depending on the product, design complexity, or run size. We were looking for ways to increase flexibility, particularly for full-color decoration and more complex or variable applications.”

Drinkware produced using direct-to-object printing technology. | Credit: Spector & Co

Expanding What’s Possible with Direct-to-Object Printing

When evaluating potential solutions, Spector & Co focused on print quality, flexibility, reliability, and how well the equipment could integrate into the live production environment. The company started out by investing in X2 flatbed UV direct-to-object technology from Inkcups in 2015, later expanding its capability with X5 flatbed systems as image quality and production speeds advanced.

“It’s not just about what a machine can do in a demo; it’s about how it performs day-to-day,” Meinstein says. “Inkcups stood out because we already knew the technology, trusted the platform, and felt it aligned well with our operational needs and long-term direction.”

More recently, Spector & Co added the XJET Switch, a flatbed UV printer for full-color, direct-to-reusable-bag applications, as it expanded into new applications.

“The XJET Switch is particularly well suited to bag applications and other flat or semi-flexible items, while the X5 platform gives us flexibility across a range of hard goods including our pens, journals and travel accessories. It really comes down to using each piece of equipment where it performs best,” Meinstein says.

Today, Spector & Co operates an Inkcups XJET Switch alongside X5, X2, and cylindrical Helix systems, with each machine playing a key role within its growing decoration platform, and broadening the range of applications the company can offer.

In any busy production environment, installations and updates to the machines being used can cause downtime and disruption, but Meinstein explains that due to the company’s structured production environment with strong process discipline, new technology can be incorporated in a way that fits into the company’s existing workflow without disruption. Meinstein also credits Inkcups for providing “solid support on installation, training and ongoing service” for smooth installations during updates to production.

Meinstein highlights the flexibility, full-color capability, and simple setup of the technology, enabling Spector & Co to efficiently produce both short-run and complex jobs while maintaining a high level of quality. Being able to produce vibrant full-color decoration with good opacity, including white ink, opens up opportunities across a much wider variety of products and colors. The result is high-quality decoration that helps customers create products with a more polished look and feel.

Credit: Spector & Co

Supporting Long-Term Growth

By expanding its decoration capabilities, Spector & Co can pursue new opportunities. These investments have also strengthened Spector & Co’s position as a trusted partner to promotional product distributors, giving customers greater confidence to sell higher-value decorated products while reinforcing the company’s reputation for quality.

“It gives our team more ways to support our distributor partners,” Meinstein says. “The feedback we hear is around print quality, consistency, and overall presentation, which are key drivers of satisfaction. We are well known in the industry for having a high-quality decoration on our products, and Inkcups is a strong part of that offering.”

“It reinforces our value proposition around quality and execution, which supports both sales and long-term relationships,”  he continues.

As demand continues to grow for promotional products that offer greater visual impact, more personalization, and premium, retail-inspired finishes, Meinstein expects DTO technology to play an even greater role in Spector & Co’s decoration mix. With brands increasingly looking to differentiate themselves through higher-quality merchandise, DTO technology provides the flexibility, full-color capability, and versatility to meet these evolving expectations.

“We view Inkcups as an important partner and will continue to assess opportunities to expand that relationship as the business evolves.,” Meinstein concludes.