How to Buy a Tattoo Gun

A tattoo gun is used to push tattoo ink into a person's skin to create permanent body art. This piece of equipment is a key element to being a successful tattoo artist. Before purchasing a tattoo gun, do some research to ensure you're getting a great machine for the right price.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Learn tattoo gun metals. Learning which metals make the best machines is important so you won't purchase a machine that may break during tattooing because it's made of a weak metal. A tattoo gun should be made of a high quality metal, such as iron, copper or brass to ensure durability.

2. Decide what type of tattoo gun you want. If you're just starting out, you may want to consider buying a separate tattoo liner and tattoo shader. Although you can buy a single machine that will do both, they tend to be more powerful and require more adjustments, or tuning.

3. Shop around at tattoo supply companies. Once you've decided what type of gun you want and the best metals to look for, you'll want to find a tattoo supply company. Look through their catalogs, do some price comparisons, read any feedback available on each specific company and tattoo gun and never be afraid to ask questions.

4. Peruse tattoo magazines. If you need help finding tattoo supply companies, many of them will advertisement in various tattoo publications. Here you will find their contact information and website address, if available.

5. Shop on eBay. You can usually find all sorts of tattooing supplies on eBay including tattoo guns. A newbie relies on the person selling the equipment to know what they're talking about. If they're truly professional, they should have a website or professional catalog they can mail you and be able to answer any questions you may have.

6. Compare prices. You can find tattoo guns as low as $50 or as high as several hundred dollars. The old adage "you get what you pay for" is definitely true when it comes to tattoo machines. Although you don't have to buy the top of the line, most expensive model available, you most likely won't get the performance you want out of a lower end model either. Try looking in the middle somewhere.

7. Talk to other tattoo artists. Many artists develop a preference other the years for everything from what brand of ink they like to who they feel sells the best tattoo guns.

8. Think about your own preferences. There are tons of different types and styles of tattoo guns available including those with fancy designs covering the electromagnetic coils. You may even end up purchasing more than one tattoo gun before you find one that completely fits your needs.

9. Check the warranty. Even high quality machines sometimes have problems.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to check the legalities of buying or owning tattoo guns or other tattoo equipment or supplies in your state.
• It is possible to make a homemade tattoo gun; however, professional machines are much easier to use, more reliable, more sanitary and less painful for the person being tattooed.
• To keep your tattoo gun at peak performance, it will require tuning at some point. Good tattoo artists will learn to tune their own machines, but there are individuals available who will tune a machine for you until you learn how.
• Buy a tattoo gun for your experience level. Even the most well-known tattoo artists were once beginners, if you have to start with a beginner kit, there's nothing wrong with that.
• Besides purchasing an appropriate tattoo gun, you will also need to purchase a power supply, foot pedal and clip cords to connect the power source to the tattoo machine.
• To complete your tattoo setup, you also need everything to ensure a safe, sanitary procedure.
• Even if a tattoo gun is wrapped during tattooing, you must still wipe the machine down and fully sterilize it between clients to ensure the health and safety of each individual.
• In states where tattooing is regulated, it's sometimes illegal to sell any kind of tattooing equipment or supplies to anyone who's not licensed by the state as a tattoo artist. If you're caught selling tattoo guns or other supplies to an unlicensed individual, you could face a fine, jail time or possibly lose your own tattoo license temporarily or even permanently.
• Complete tattooing supply kits are available from many companies. When you're first starting out, this can be a good way to get a lot of the items you need all at once, including a tattoo gun.

Resources

• Lovetoknow Tattoo Gun.
• LovetoKnow Tattoo Machine.
• Tattoo & Piercing supplies.
• Tattoo Depot tattoo supplies.
• Tattoo kits by experience level.
• Unimax Tattoo Supply.
• Kingpin Tattoo Supply.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.

[masons]

on 12/8/2008 is there an age limit on buying a tattoo gun???