Pen Machine
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work but it did catch the eye of Samuel F. O’Reilly, a tattoo artist from New York. In 1891 he managed to create the first tattoo machine, it was a very heavy piece of equipment that did cause artists to tire quickly but no one really gets their inventions right the first time. There is always room for improvement in any type of innovation. Charlie Wagner was the next person to try and improve this machine for the comfort of artists not having to take more breaks from their works of art. In 1904 he started selling his design, which had placed two coils next to each other, making it easier to work with as it was a bit lighter and didn’t offer as much restriction as the original O’Reilly design. The final modification on the coil machine was done by Percy Waters in 1929, he made the two coils electromagnetic, added an on/off switch and a spark guard. Making the equipment a bit safer to work with and stop the clients receiving a few minor burns when getting their new pieces done. He did make them also completely customisable but it make it very hard for artists to take them apart after they had been put together to the artists liking, which was something that was needed to clean them and make sure the spread of germs was minimised. But ever since that coil machines have remained relatively untouched (apart from them upgrading when electricity did), talk about if it ain’t broke.
The next type of machine to be invented was the rotary machine. While the coil and rotary machine do the same job, the coil machine uses the electromagnetic coils to engage an armature bar which pushes the needle down and once the magnetic field is broken by the coils, it brings the needle back up with a spring-like motion. It acts in a hammer like motion. A rotary machine is powered by a motor that rotates clockwise that moves the needle up and down in a smoother motion than the coil machine. It also has a more gentle approach to tattooing and can make it a little less painful for the client. These became more popular in the 1960’s for artists to use but even today, coil machines are a lot more preferred. Rotary machines tend to be a little more expensive and can’t really achieve certain styles as well as a coil machine can such as heavy colour packing, it just doesn't have enough power. A matter of personal preference to the artist as both the coil machines and rotary have pros and cons.
Rotary Machine
These days tattoo machines are still evolving just by tweaking those two styles (rotary and coil) but the advancements are sometimes straight out of a scifi novel. Wireless machines are being developed as well as digital machines. These offer greater precision in the tattooing process as the machines themselves can adjust needle depth, speed and even the force, which leads to a more comfortable tattooing process for the client. Wireless machines are a bit more simple than the digital ones but still a big deal. These machines run off rechargeable batteries meaning the need for power cords have been eliminated, which completely changes the game for artists. They no longer have to deal with repositioning the cord when they move into different areas and have a bit of weight lifted off their equipment. It’s like writing or drawing with one of those weirdly weighted novelty pens then switching to a plain bic pen, the annoyance and strange weight is now gone. Some artists do still prefer the corded machines, it’s all personal preference in the end, but these machines offer a better tattooing experience for both the artist and the client. Artists have said they feel less fatigued using the wireless machines as they are lighter and allow them to focus solely on their work instead of having to worry about how the cord is going to sit while moving around. It allows them to do longer sessions without breaks as their hands are no longer straining under the weight and they are also energy efficient and cheaper to maintain as they don’t have to worry about the cord deteriorating over time and having to replace or repair them. There is the small issue that the batteries are always as powerful as needed for longer sessions and artists do need a few spares that are fully charged to switch between in longer sessions but that is something that can be worked around in the future as wireless technology is evolving every single day.
Wireless Machine
There is a whole world of tattooing that is utilising robotics to make tattooing even more accessible and pushing human creativity to something that used to be only dreamed about. While these innovations are not as widespread as coil and rotary machines or pigment in inks, they are working on trying to push into spaces to improve the scene. Tattoo artists have started using 3D printers to improve their designs. They can custom print items to make a sort of stamp that can be used on the skin, this is still a bit of a work in progress but it can lead to some cute tattoos in the near future. They are also using the printers to put tattoos on prosthetics, making the tattoo community more inclusive for amputees. People are even developing apps that can bring the designs to life, similar to those interactive toys that you can get and they can come to life after you scan them through an app. Or those Spotify code tattoos that you can scan then get to listen to someone's favourite song (or get Rick Rolled). It shows how digital technology can bring a whole new life to an art form that is older than modern civilization. And maybe one day we can have actual moving tattoos on our bodies but in the very very far future most likely.
But away from the insane tech that makes it look like something straight out of a book written in the 50’s about 2003. Even the pigment of ink is considered an innovation in the tattoo world. Colour tattoos can be traced back to ancient cultures such as Egypt, Japan and Celtic people as they all experimented with different materials to put into their ink. Egyptians would mix copper minerals into their ink to create blue and green hues while Japanese people would ink made from burnt pine and bone glue to alter the colours and Celts used woad plants to create the iconic blue for their tattoos. By the Victorian era, colour tattoos were widely used, their colours were a lot lighter than ours are today, as they were using minerals mixed into pre-existing ink and could only do so much with the technology they had back then. Tattoo artists actually had to make the coloured ink in their studios before use, meaning the risk of cross contamination was sky high and led to a lot of infections and issues that come with not being in a clean environment. In the 1920s about the same time that modern tattoo machines were being created, pre-mixed ink became popularised. Making the colours a lot brighter and safer to be tattooed into people’s skin. Even these days, colour tattoos can lose some of their vibrance due to the wear and tear of the body and how it breaks down unfamiliar substances to the skin, which continues the research into making colour tattoos stay around for longer.
But bringing it back to some of the more scifi-like elements of tattooing. Different types of tattoo inks are being engineered so that artists can tap into designs that couldn’t have been done before. UV ink is becoming a popular way to create some of these masterpieces. Ink is mixed with compounds that react to ultraviolet lights (more commonly known as black lights) these compounds absorb the light and re-emit it as light viable to the human eye. They appear to be glowing as well. There are two different types, one that shows up in normal lights and glows under a black light or the one that appears completely invisible until it is exposed to a black light. The second type isn’t the perfect way to hide it from your parents yet, as when healing it is visible in normal light so that the artist can see what they are doing and you know that the tattoo is healing nicely. They also might need multiple sessions to create the desired effect as they are a lot thinner than normal inks. It is best to do some research about the artists who offer this, as it has to be a good reputable studio and artist for you to get the desired effect of the UV ink, as well as the ink must be high quality for it to be considered safe. Even if UV compounds are not dangerous as they only emit tiny amounts of radiation (similar to bananas) if not good quality it can increase the risk of infections and complications during the tattooing process and healing.
UV Tattoo
Another fun type of ink is disappearing ink, similar to a temporary tattoo but instead of it washing off after a single shower or one of the fancier ones that take a few months to come off, it is applied like an actual tattoo and fades over time. They disappear by themselves over a course of 3 years as your body breaks down the ink slowly. It does depend on how you look after it, where you got it tattooed and even what the design is on how quickly it fades or long it will stay with you. It is called ephemeral ink, meaning lasting for a short time. The reason it degrades over time is due to the clever engineering behind it, normal tattoo inks are hydrophobic which causes them to aggregate into large particles that are too large for the body’s immune system to break down, while ephemeral ink eventually breaks down into smaller particles that the body can take care of and remove.
As tattooing grows older and older there will always be new improvements to how tattoos are done, how the machines work and even how the ink affects the body. The world is always improving to combat the issues it has or has improved because creativity knows no bounds, just like how tattooing will for years to come.
