The Tattoo Gun

There are two parts to getting a tattoo and a tattoo gun has two needle assemblies to accomplish this.

In your typical gun, liner needles are arranged on the bar in a circular pattern. Tattoo guns are configured with these needles assembly to do the outline of your tattoo.

Shader needles are usually in a straight arrangement. Like their name suggests, shader needles provide shading or color fill.

The needles are like sewing machine needles and usually made of stainless steel. Liners are in 1, 3, 4, 5, & 7-needle combinations, set in a round configuration. There can really be any number of them but these seem to be most common. Shader needles are in a straight row and usually are in groups of 4, 6, 7 or 9 needles. The tubes are designed especially for the combination of needles, so there's a special tube for the various combinations of needles in a needle bar assembly.

The needles only stick out a couple of millimeters from the tubes, and they don't penetrate that deeply into your skin. The uniform depth of skin penetration provided by tattoo guns make professional tattoos easier to remove with lasers, that the do-it-yourself-tattoos done by “scratchers.”

Each needle has its own tube, enabling the needle bar shaft to operate smoothly without damaging the needles. A single needle is used to make fine, delicate lines, like the ones you’ll see in small delicate tattoos. A row of needles is used for coloring, shading and denser lines.

The end of the needle tube is dipped in a small amount of ink. As the tattooist guides the machine over the skin, the needle moves up and down, puncturing the skin and depositing ink along the way. Surplus ink and the blood that oozes from the skin punctures are continuously removed with tissues.

That’s the cut and dry information on tattoos guns.

What most people don’t realize is that the tattoo gun in probably one of the most modified pieces of equipment in the professional tattoo artists arsenal. Tattooists personalize their equipment to lessen vibration, add to the power, and tailor the grips to their hands.

Tattoo guns are often taken apart and reassembled, both for maintenance and cleaning. Familiarity with the inner workings of the gun allows artists to adapt their guns.

While each tattoo artist prefers to start with a certain gun, rest assured that by the time they break it in, their tattoo gun might as well be made to order for them alone.

This article courtesy of Tattoos: Information