In order to be a successful tattooist, it’s important to have the right tattoo supplies available to you at all times.
The most important piece of equipment in your tattooing arsenal will always be your tattoo machine. It’s the machine that will allow you to transfer your art from paper to body in an attractive, high quality manner, so it’s essential that you are choosing the right machine for you.
If you’ve never quite understood what you should be looking for in a machine, or are simply an apprentice looking for your first piece of kit, here are our tips for finding the tattoo machine that is right for you.
Look for a Quality
Material
As you will be using the machine to permanently create art on a customer’s skin, it’s important to first look into what material you want your tattoo gun to be made from.
Most tattoo guns from reputable suppliers will be made from materials such as brass and iron as they boast reliable sturdiness which reduces the risk of them breaking or shattering while a tattoo is being created.
Using a gun made from a flimsy material is putting your customer at risk of damage, especially if the gun malfunctions. You need to be sure that you can trust your tattoo gun to perform to the best of its ability every single time you begin a tattoo and the best way to be able to do this is to invest in a good quality gun made from a reliable material.
The last thing you want is for your gun to break and damage your customers skin – reputation is everything when tattooing!
Find the Right Shape
and Size for your Hand
After choosing a material for your tattoo machine, the next thing that you should consider is the size and shape of the gun itself.
You have to remember that you will be tattooing on and off all day – often every day – so it’s important that you will be comfortable holding the machine for extended periods of time. This would include looking at how big the tattoo gun is and whether it fits comfortably in your hand as well as whether you feel like you could use the machine for extended periods of time.
It’s also advisable to remember how much flexibility you will need your gun to be able to perform. Some designs may require tricky details which often require you tattooing in some awkward positions – would you be happy holding this machine for a long time doing these details?
Think About Using A
Variety of Guns
Rather than constantly relying on one single machine to do all your tattooing work, why not think about getting a variety of different machines which deal with specific tasks such as shading, line work and so forth.
This will not only make your life much easier when it comes to tattoos which require a lot of different techniques to be used in one sitting, but will also improve the quality of your tattooing too.
There are hybrid machines that are available, but as tattoo professionals, we’d recommend investing in different machines, simply because it’s easier to rely on machines which have a specific purpose than having to remember to adjust countless settings to change a liner to a shader.
Tattoo artists should always put the safety of their clients at the forefront of their minds, and as the tattoo machine will be the piece of equipment that’s doing a lot of the essential work, it’s important that you are making sure that it’s the right machine for the job – and for you.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Body Shock if you’re in need of high quality tattoo supplies. Contact us today, or head over to our Facebook and Twitter pages for more information on our services.
