Matt Jett.
"There was no YouTube, no tutorials — just a book, a used press, and a lot of trial and error."
Matt Jett's journey in the printing industry began in 1999, when he moved to Florida and joined a business his mother had started with a single-head embroidery machine. Working alongside his mother and sister, the family grew that small operation into a large shop offering multi-head embroidery.
Matt, though, kept hearing the same question from customers: "Do you do shirts?" That question sparked his interest in screenprinting, and the family bought an old Rototex printer along with used screens and ink to start offering it. There was no YouTube, no endless library of online tutorials — Matt learned the craft the old-fashioned way, working through a book and teaching himself through trial and error as he gradually automated the shop's printing equipment.
In 2008, Matt's mother retired and his sister relocated the embroidery side of the business to Virginia. That transition marked the founding of Jett Printworks, with Matt at the helm of the screenprinting side of the family trade.
In the years since, Matt has grown the business steadily — often working nights and spare hours while also gaining experience at a variety of other print shops along the way. He managed the print and art department for a national manufacturer of safety apparel, and expanded his printing expertise well beyond garments, working on boxes, shipping containers, and glass.
Every step of that journey — the trial and error, the equipment he taught himself to run, and the people he's worked alongside — has shaped the craftsmanship behind Jett Printworks today. Matt's latest passion is glass signage decorated with gold leaf using traditional techniques, a craft that reflects the same hands-on, detail-driven approach he's brought to printing since 1999.