Tattoo Safety Advice

Tattoo Safety Advice

With the advent of many communicable diseases, some fatal, it has become necessary to institute certain isolation and sterilization procedures in the tattoo process to assure the public of a safe, risk-free tattoo. Professional tattooists working with local, state, and national health authorities have prepared the following advice.


1. Always insist that you see your tattooist remove a new needle and tube set-up from a sealed envelope immediately prior to your tattoo.

2. Be certain you see your tattooist pour a new ink supply into a new disposable container.

3. Make sure your artist puts on a new pair of disposable gloves before setting up tubes, needles, and ink supplies.

4. Satisfy yourself that the shop furnishings and tattooist are clean and orderly in appearance; much like a medical facility.

5. Feel free to question the tattooist as to any of his sterile procedures and isolation techniques.

6. Take time to observe them at work and do not hesitate to inquire about their experience and qualifications in the tattoo field.

7. If the tattooist is a qualified professional, they will have no problem complying with standards above and beyond these simple guidelines.

8. If the tattooist or studio does not appear up to these standards or if they become evasive when questioned, seek out a professional tattooist.

Types of Tattoos

Types of Tattoos Abstractions

Abstractions are tattoo designs that are mostly derived from archaic tattooing Almost all the tribal tattoos belong to this category, as well as Celtic or modern, western abstract designs Naturalistic Tattoos When attempt is made to portray some things in naturalistic style, they tend to take natural form. Naturalistic tattoos fall in this category The portrayal involves detailing, shading and perspective to make an image look realistic Pledge or Dedication Deigns These kinds of designs are associated with sailor or 'traditional' western tattooing Some examples of pledge or dedicated tattoos are the heart and name banner tattoo, the anchor with a ship name, and the insignia of a military regiment

Simplifications or Stylized Designs

Simplifications or Stylized appear in all styles of pictures This may range from a cartoon character, flash from the wall of the tattoo shop to animals or flowers You can also stylize non-flash, custom tattoos. This may include hearts, stylized flowers, leaves, and other images and characters

Complex Structures or Combinations

Another popular tattoo type is complex structures like the traditional Japanese body suits or an amalgamation of images and characters which are not directly associated with each other.

HOW DOES A MODERN TATTOO MACHINE WORK

TATTOO MACHINE WORK

The tattoo machine ('gun' is a misnomer) is really a basic doorbell circuit (you know--you push a button and somewhere in the kitchen this little arm bangs the hell out of a bell thingie). For you techies out there it's a DC coil and spring point(s) machine. Both doorbell and tat machine were invented before household current was available. It is essentially in 3 sections: The base, the mechanism, and the sanitary tube. The base really is the bulk of the metal; a rabbit ear with a screw in it, bent at 90 degrees to hold coils. In the front there's a round hole to hold the sanitary tube. Some people think the base looks like the handle of a gun. The base houses the mechanism, which consists of two coils of wire wrapped around an iron core.

At the top of the mechanism is a set of silver contact "points" (like the end of a wire); one usually on a spring mechanism, the other either the end, or on the end of a screw. The spring connects to the base and a bar, which is connected to the needle arm (90 degrees offset). The needle arm is connected to the needles (which are soldered onto the bar), and moves up and down inside the sanitary tube. The coils connect to a DC power supply (between 6 - 12VDC), via a spring coiled U-cable. The U-cable is called a "clip cord," designed to move easily between machines but also stay in place and not fall out and spark all over the place. The springs hold the cable in/onto the machine.

One side of the coils is connected to the power supply, the other end to the point on the screw on the bunny ear, which is insulated from the base. Through the points, the current flows via the coils and the base of the machine. This causes the coils to become electromagnetic. The electro-magnet pulls down the bar, which does two things: pulls down the needles, and opens the points. The points being open turn off the magnet. The spring assembly brings back the bar, which causes the needles to move up *AND* make contact with the points. This causes the whole cycle to happen again making the needles go up and down. Most machines have a large capacitor across the coils/points, which keeps the points from arcing and pitting, and wearing out so quickly. A capacitor is a device that holds energy kind of like a battery, but charges and discharges much faster (parts of a second rather than 3 or 4 hours).

The capacitor charges while the points are open, so when they close, the difference in voltage across them is nill. The points are really an automatic switch controlled by the spring to turn the thing off and on quickly. In old cars where there were points there was a condenser (aka capacitor) for the same reason. The sanitary tube sucks up the ink in capillary fashion, and the needles load up as long as there's ink in the small portion of the tube.It's called "sanitary" because of the cutout at the bottom of the tube, which can be rinsed out. My understanding is that there are three layers of skin: Scaly layer, epidermis, and dermis. Tattoo machines are adjusted to penetrate into the dermis layer but NOT *through* it (below it is the fat layer of the body).

When the needles go into the sanitary tube they have a layer of ink on and between them. The needles make little holes in the skin, and the ink is deposited into the holes. This is why the skin has to be stretched so blobs of ink don't stay. Otherwise, the skin will latch onto the needles, grab the ink from them and generally make a mess. Ink just put into the scaly layer would be replaced quickly and fade away. While ink into the epidermis will stay, my conjecture is that the dermis makes for more ink and perhaps a more vivid image. Machines are really of two types: Liners, and shaders. They areexactly the same, but are set up differently. The gap for a liner isaround the thickness of a dime, and a shader is the thickness of a nickel. Liner needles are usually arranged on the bar in a circular pattern. Shader needles are usually straight (like a comb), although Spaulding & Rogers sells a 15-needle round shader.

The needles are small sewing machine needles, usually made of stainless steel. Liners are in 1, 3, 4, 5, & 7-needle combinations, set in a round configuration. Note: 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, 9 needles. The sanitary tubes are designed especially for the combination of needles, so there's a special tube for each different number of needles in a needle bar assembly Shaders are mounted on flat needle bars while liners are mounted on round bars There are two other types of machines. Spaulding & Rogers revolution (don't know of an artist that uses this one), which is a DC motor that turns a cam that raises and lowers the needle bar assembly through a sanitary tube. The other is something that I have never seen (even in pictures) but they are used in prison and are made of tape Recorder motors, and for the life of me I don't know how they work

Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery
The 'New' Tattoo ArtIn the early 1700s, the history of tattoos took a new twise. Captain Cook visited the South Pacific Islands and brought back with him an intricately tattooed young girl named Onai. Instantly, tattoo designs became a hit, and many members of the nobility obtained discreet, private tattoo art. For a brief time, tattooing – then a costly, lengthy procedure – became a status symbol. This all changed with the introduction of the first electric tattoo needle in 1891. Suddenly, everyone who wanted a tattoo could have one, and the result was that it came to be considered vulgar. This is, after all, a fairly typical human reaction – when something is hard to get, we tend to want it more! After that, tattoo art went underground, so to speak. A facility in New York’s Chatham Square brought the practice to the modern American public, but tattooing was considered somewhat disreputable until it made a dramatic comeback a few decades ago. As tattoo designs and safety techniques improved, and several prominant celebrities began to sport tattoos, they became desirable once again.
Towards the end of the 1800s criminals in America and even normal citizens were tattooed with a code for identification purposes.
Weapon Tattoo GalleryWeapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery


Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery



Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery



Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo GalleryWeapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo GalleryWeapon Tattoo Gallery


Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery
Weapon Tattoo GalleryWeapon Tattoo Gallery

Weapon Tattoo Gallery Weapon Tattoo Gallery

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Gallery Weapon

Tattoo art is thousands years old Each region has its own tattooing techniques Different tattooing techniques have evolved over a long period of time Diverse climatic conditions

Tribal Smooth curves and sharp tips made easy

What makes a good-looking tribal? Nice and solid black.

The right placement.

Sharp and even curves.

Tips that come to a clean point..Well I can't tell you how to put the black in solid (you should already know how to do that) and I cant tell you where to place the tribal (the placement works best with the curvature of the muscles) but what I may be able to help you out with is smooth curves and tight tips...when I do any tribal work (and I do a lot of that in our shop) I use an eight needle outliner...I guess by now you must be asking why an eight? I thought that you said the tips are going to be pointy...well I use an eight needle outliner because it produces a wide enough outline that you don't have to slave over getting up to the outline without going outside the outline with the color, and this makes the job goes much faster.

Also with a wide outline it is much easier to produce a nice curve or straight line then it is using a five needle or a three needle...but now you ask yourself, but what about those pointy tips of the tribal that you talked about? See when you turn the flats sideways you produce what is equivalent to using a single needle.

Because all the needle on a flat shader will produce a line that is as wide as a single when used sideways...like I said in my other tech tips.

This may not be for you, but it sure works well for me and also for all the other Tattooist that I turned on to this

DO TATTOO NEEDLES BECOME DULL WITH USE

TATTOO NEEDLES

The following information is provided by Uncle Bud
Tattoo needles do not dullen with age, but instead become sharper by the
repetitive honing motion they experience in the tattoo machine.


This happens because the metal of the sanitary tube rubs against the
needles, and the softer metal (the needles) will wear. The problem with
these sharpened needles is that they sharpen into flat razor-like edges,
and begin cutting the skin instead of piercing small holes.


Since a tattoo is created by the conical shape of the needle
transferring pigment into the skin with the aid of a wetting agent, the
needle's shape is as important as its sharpness. Pigment does not
transfer into the skin as efficiently when the shape is altered, and can
also lead to scarring.


Another problem with needles is the occurrence of burs or barbs when the
needles hit the side or bottom of the pigment caps.


While it is possible to use the same set of needles for more than eight
hours (on the same client, of course), correct needle configuration,
setup, and alignment of the needle and machine are very critical.

All Tattoo Gallery

All Tattoo Gallery
Tattoos TodayToday, we have entered a new phase in the history of tattoos. We could say that the time-honored practice of tattooing has gone mainstream. Today, the procedure is very safe and relatively painless, and there are literally thousands of tattoo designs to choose from. In fact, even a quick internet search for “free tattoo designs” reveals a wealth of cross-cultural designs. In a sense, the whole long history of tattoos is played out in the designs of today, because of the vast number of designs available. Henna TattoosNot quite ready to take the plunge? Try henna tattoos