Advanced Tattoo Glossary Terms

1. Blowout

2. Sterilized water

3. Stroke

4. Give

5. E-Give

6. Traditional needles

7. Cartridge needles

8. Cartridge needles with membrane

9. Diameter / Size of the needle

10. Needle configuration

11. Configuration and common needle abbreviations 

   11.1 Round liner

   11.2 Flat

   11.3 Magnum / "Mag

   11.4 Soft edge Magnum or curved Magnum

   11.5 Stacked Magnum

   11.6 Bugpin

12. Needle abbreviations

13. Taper / needle tip

When tattoos go wrong 

Blowout: when the tattoo spreads after healing leaving a halo effect. 

This is usually the result of the tattoo artist poking too deeply into the skin combined with the body's natural protective process, which attempts to get rid of the "invader" or ink.

Sterile water: water that has been processed so that it does not contain microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, spores. 

Tap water is not a good choice for diluting pigments or washing needles during the tattooing process. The use of non-sterile water can cause skin infections.

Reverse osmosis, distilled, tap, bottled and spring water are not the same as sterilized water.

Parts and features of the tattoo machine

Stroke: In engines, a stroke is a flat rotating plate with a small bearing on top. The purpose of the the stroke is to change the type of motion from rotary to linear. To accomplish this, the stroke uses intermediate machine parts. When a tattoo machine is powered by electricity, the stroke rotates and with the help of these intermediate parts, pushes the needle back and forth.

The size and weight of the cam itself is what determines how much centrifugal force the stroke exerts on the other moving parts. The way this affects the tattooing process is as follows: 

The larger the stroke the more force is exerted, the more the needle protrudes the longer the needle stroke.

Keep in mind that the difference in the sizes of the stroke is almost imperceptible to the naked eye, but even that small difference will give you a very different "stroke length".

Give: the force with which the machine/needle punctures or the sensitivity with which the needle punctures the skin. 

When the needle punctures the skin, the resistance it will exert when it hits a thicker or harder area of skin compared to when it punctures softer, easier to penetrate areas. If the machine or needle resists and punctures the skin hard it is "low give" and if it resists as far as the skin will allow it is "high give". 

The way this affects the tattooing process is that some machines offer stroke adjustment and others do not. A "zero give / stroke" machine always strokes hard and evenly. Machines that do not have the stroke adjustment are called "direct drive". 

Many tattooers have various machines to suit different techniques, skin types, etc. and it all depends on preference, hand speed, style, etc.

E-Give: is a branded term registered by FK Irons that manipulates the stroke through electronic means and works even on direct drive machines. It works with an application called Darklab.

Traditional needles: is a long needle that ends in a circle and generally requires the use of an elastic band. These are the traditional needles that were used before the appearance of pen machines and cartridge needles.

Cartridge needle: we know the term cartridge as a container to insert into some type of machine such as a printer or a gun. However, tattoo machine cartridges are filled with needles.

Cartridge needles with membrane: Generally, a membrane is a dividing barrier that is intended to prevent or regulate the passage of fluids, cells, etc. from one area to another. In the case of cartridge needles, some have a plastic membrane barrier and some do not. 

Cartridges with a membrane are the standard in the tattoo industry but there are also cartridges without a membrane. These are generally not used by tattooers because of the health hazards of cross contamination.

The way this affects the tattooing process is that machines whose grips are not separate from the cartridge (like most pen type machines) have a membrane is absolutely essential for ink and body fluid backflow to pass into the machine. 

Any liquid that gets into the motor of a machine will damage it and can contaminate the machine, putting customers at risk.

Needle Diameter / Size: is the width (diameter) of each individual needle. In the tattoo world, some needle manufacturers refer to a number rather than the diameter itself. 

For example: 

#6 = 0.20mm wide diameter (these are extra fine needles used primarily in cosmetic tattooing).

#8 = 0.25mm 

#10 or 00 "double zero" = 0.30mm

#12 = 0.35mm

#13 = 0,35mm

Needle configuration: how close together the needles are and in what shape they are placed. A tight grouping of needles in a circle with many needles will give you a very different result from a grouping with only three needles in a straight line.

Common needle configuration and abbreviations

Round liner: a single needle or several grouped together, intended for line work. A single needle is mostly used for small tattoos, micro realism and cosmetic tattoos on the delicate skin on the face and lips.

Flat: group of needles placed side by side, whose points are all level with each other.

Magnum / "Mag": the difference between Flat and "Mag" is that "Mag" is just the name of the general category of needles that are placed side by side.

Soft Edge Magnum or curved Magnum: A group of needles placed side by side, where the center needles protrude slightly more than the edge needles, forming a "curved" or "soft" edge.

Stacked Magnum: two rows of needles placed side by side.

Bugpin: the thinnest needles (generally 0.25mm).

Needle abbreviations:

RL = Round Liner (in a circle)

RLT or RLXT = Round Liner Tight or Extra Tight (in a tighter circle)

RS = Round Shader (in a looser circle than RL)

F = Flat (more than one needle placed side by side, especially forming a flat edge at the ends)

M = Mags (More than one needle placed side by side. Can be curved or straight-edged, but unless specified, straight is usually the standard).

M1C = Curved Magnum (one layer of needles)

MC = Curved Magnum (can be single or multiple layers of needles) 

M2 = Stacked Magnum (two layers of needles)

MS = Magnum Shader (two layers of very compact needles)

BP = Bugpin

Taper / needle point: the distance it takes for the needle to start tapering until it ends at its point. The longer the distance, the finer the needle point.

Points are generally classified as short, medium and long points.

A long point will look very thin as it tapers very slowly and the point will look very sharp.

In comparison, a short tip will look a little rounded and even if the tip is really pointed, it will look a little duller simply because it is shorter.