Tattoos are described as indelible or temporary designs made on the skin. These indelible designs are made by pricking and ingraining a kind of pigment into the dermis layer of the skin that cannot be erased. Temporary tattoos are done by using different kinds of dyes. Tattooing is an age-old practice, said to be first practiced by some Polynesian societies, which was then spread to Europe through the sailors who visited these places. Tattoos are generally made by a hand-held device called a tattoo machine or a tattoo iron. Tattoo artists use a basic lining machine to mark the outline and a shading machine to fill in with colors, mostly variants of black. Artists change needles frequently to suit their need. Now, let us look at three popular types of tattoo machines.
1. Rotary
Rotary type tattoo machine was inspired by a design model created by Sir Thomas Edison which was originally intended for writing by inserting ink into cuts. This design was then modified by Samuel OâReilly into a tattoo machine. Before this machine came into being, tattoos were made by stabbing the skin several times with sharp bamboo sticks dipped in indelible ink. This machine has several needles that rotated and punctured the skin before depositing the indelible ink into these tiny puncture wounds. Rotary machines use bearings to move the needles and so it does not make much noise. Though rotary machines are not much in use nowadays, some tattoo artists still prefer these machines as these are less intimidating to the customers owing to their quiet nature.
2. Dual Coil
As the name indicates, a dual coil tattoo machine works on a dual-coil electromagnetic system, which forces the needles to move up and down using springs. Initially, this type of machine used to be so heavy that the artists hung them from the ceiling in order to use them easily. This machine is said to be more precise than the conventional rotary machine. Dual coil machines are readily available in the market and one can even buy it through various websites. In dual coil machines, there are two subtypes: one for lining and the other for shading.
3. Pneuma
Pneuma type tattoo machine is a new type of machine that runs on air compression. This is a very light version of tattoo machine and is very easy to use. This machine can be sterilized in an autoclave. This is yet to be popular among the tattoo artists.
