Getting to know Matt & Sarah
Most print shops make things for other people. Troppo Print Studio gives people the tools to make things themselves.
Founded by Matt and Sarah in Melbourne in 2018, Troppo is an open-access, membership-based screen printing studio — closer to a shared creative workshop than a conventional commercial printer. It’s a place where artists, designers and curious makers can experiment, learn and produce their own work.
Behind the studio are two people with distinctly different creative backgrounds.
Sarah’s journey spans fashion design, fine art, commercial printing and political poster making. Matt’s began with backyard T-shirt printing and printmaking, developing into an appreciation for elaborate metal graphics and a proudly more-is-more approach to design.
Together, they’ve created a space that embraces both worlds, producing artist editions, running workshops and taking on ambitious projects of their own — including an entire book designed and screenprinted by hand.
But perhaps Troppo’s most interesting contribution isn’t any single piece of work.
It’s the opportunity they’ve created for others to make something themselves.
In this month’s Behind The Mesh, we meet Matt and Sarah and explore the people, projects and ideas behind their unconventional print studio.
Let’s dive in.
Follow Sarah and Matt on:
Website: www.troppoprintstudio.com
Instagram: @troppo_print_studio
About Sarah & Matt
List 3 things about yourself – fun facts, hobbies, pets or interests
- We have a cat named Scratchie
- S (Sarah) – A random fact is my background is in fashion design, and my favourite internship was in Paris with Lucy Orta, of Studio Orta.
- M (Matt) – My favorite food is pizza. My hobby is laying on our couch.
Describe your screen printing journey. How and when did you get started and what has been your biggest learning experience?
S – I started trying to figure things out in 2008, after finishing at uni I worked in an art school of sorts that had screenprinting equipment, myself and Matt wanted to make band patches for our jackets, as we used to go to a lot of gigs in London. When we moved to Australia in 2012, I joined Monster Mouse Studios and Bobbin and Ink and screenprinted there (thanks Carizza and Laura), whilst Matt studied Printmaking at Uni. After moving to Melbourne in 2017 to start my MFA, I clocked a year and became pretty angry about institutional arts education and in 2018 we started Troppo Print Studio, slowly buying more second hand equipment, and getting some good practice in too.
Myself and Matt worked at a bunch of commercial printers in Melbourne, my favourite was Glasdec, when I learnt to use a rotary press for glass printing. There’s alot to say about positive working environments within commercial screenprinting. This place was a real gem.
My biggest ongoing learning experience is how hard small business is. Troppo isn’t a commercial fabric printing business, it’s an open access screenprinting studio, that’s membership accessible, just like a gym but for screenprinting. So I think what Troppo offers is unusual but it exists as a space where members can print their own work outside of the restrictions and minimum order quantities etc. We also facilitate workshop programmes with organisations, print editions for artists and designers, and highlight the work of Troppo members, at Book Fairs and exhibitions..
M – I did some screen printing in a signwriting course, and made some shirts in the backyard with a mate in the early 2000’s. Then started taking printing seriously working with Sarah. Biggest learning experience is putting the springs on a paper drying rack.
Tell us about your proudest screen printing project. What made it special and what did you learn from it?
S – I’d say I’m pretty proud of our hand screenprinted book – ‘A Dictionary of Hand Screenprinting’. It was a pretty big challenge as Matt and I did the design work, layout, text, and printing by ourselves. So it was massive. I learned to not do it again.
In terms of editions on paper, I was proud to print Thea Anamara Perkin’s and Marlene Rubuntja’s work ‘You Are on Aboriginal Land’ 2023, its pretty high up there for my fav screenprints, not only for its importance, but its legacy within social and political screenprinted posters. This work also featured in an exhibition we put together called Future Foundations, A political poster show held in 2024, and 2025. We painted, and screenprinted the walls, and also the wall titles etc which was pretty satisfying.
M – The Dictionary of Hand screenprinting, was a tough project, but very proud to have seen it through. Designing and hand screenprinting a book is a big job!
Industry
What are your thoughts on the current trends in screen printing? Do you see any emerging styles or techniques that excite you?
S – Honestly I feel like I dont know what’s going on half the time in terms of trends. I do know that I like screenprints that are blocky, bold, and make good use of overprinting, I love working on Hand drawn film work with my students at my other job.
M – I really like all the full-on all-over print longsleeve shirts getting printed, I love all the Metal longsleeves with crazy designs!! I’m a ‘more is more’ kinda person.
What role does the online community play in your screen printing practice? How do you connect with other printers and share knowledge?
M – It helps us connect with our community, it’s always nice to get encouragement and encourage others! Its cool to see what’s being printed and get some inspiration.
S – I like to try and meet up with people and chat about their processes, ideas and how they make their work, people like Carol Porter, Bob Clutterbuck, Alison Alder, Eve Glenn, Carole Wilson, Wendy Black who are some of the OG political poster makers, and by extension artists and designers that utilise print, not necessarily screenprinting like the Workers Art Collective, Glom Press and Helio Press.
Shop Floor
What is your most treasured product or piece of equipment on the floor that has made your life easier as a printer? Why?
S – My most treasured piece of equipment is our mystery GJS manual paper printing table that we got second-hand, I reckon, trusty micro reg!
Printers/jewellers Loupe, The Archivist (Thailand) gifted us a loupe, and I’ve never gone back, it’s really helpful for setting up registration for paper printing.
M– I’d say we have a pretty basic setup. We got a great secondhand M&R carousel, its been broken down and set back up so many times & still works great!
What is on your wish list for your shop floor this year?
M – I know Sarah wants a shop dog, see how it goes, maybe a sleepy chill one. 🙂
S – 😀
Advice
What advice would you give to aspiring screen printers? What are the essential skills and qualities for success in this field?
S – Set up small achievable print runs so you can get the hang of printing. A simple single colour on a light colour garment or patch, will give a greater sense of achievement than struggling though light inks on dark fabrics for your first try, and means you actually want to do more!
Get a good handle on trapping/choking your artwork. We’ve a pretty straightforward set up at Troppo, and print with waterbased only, so for us trapping is important. I love Permaset for fabric printing, and then for paper printing we mix up our own inks.
If you’re reading this in Naarm/Melbourne where sunshine is so unpredictable – pay a local printing place to expose your screen, rather than trying to expose in the sun. We teach a lot of workshops, and sun exposure / flood coats / printing white on black shirts are literally the main issues that people experience when learning the ropes.
M – Remember to flood coat!!!!
Bonus
Share a funny or unexpected mishap you’ve encountered while screen printing.
M – drying 200 tea towels on a drying rack, and noticing rust from the rack staining the teatowels. Doh!
S – That was a bad one!
What’s your go-to playlist for a productive printing session?
M – Doom Metal.
S – Drone Folk / Gabba / Punk / Indian Carnatic Music. All of them together at the same time..
What is the weirdest/funniest artwork you’ve had to print?
M – We print a lot of weird stuff at Troppo, the last shirt we did had an alien conducting some sort of electrical test on an unwilling victim. Lol
S – This is true. A couple of years ago I printed 120 massive unique screenprinted cakes for Alice Oehr, it was off the back of the lockdowns so gargantuan efforts seemed to make alot of sense then, I guess it was an all or nothing kind of time.
Conclusion
Troppo’s work reflects the extraordinary range of possibilities within screen printing — from meticulously hand-printed books to elaborate metal graphics and politically significant artwork.
Sarah’s involvement in printing You Are on Aboriginal Land by Thea Anamara Perkins and Marlene Rubuntja, alongside Troppo’s Future Foundations political poster exhibitions, connects the studio to a long tradition of screen printing as a medium for artistic expression and social commentary.
It’s a reminder that screen printing has never belonged exclusively to commercial production.
That philosophy is reflected in the space Matt and Sarah have built. By sharing equipment, knowledge and opportunities, they’re helping others explore a creative process that might otherwise remain out of reach.
Not every artist needs their own workshop. Not every project fits a commercial print run. Sometimes, someone simply needs access to the tools and a little guidance to get started.
Some studios are defined by the work that leaves their doors. Troppo is also defined by the people it lets in.
That’s what sits behind the mesh.
