By Dan Wilders
Anyone that has had a tattoo before or that has even just been inside a tattoo studio will usually be able to easily recall the sound of a tattoo gun as it whirs and deposits ink into someone’s skin. Tattoo guns are the devices used to deposit ink into someone’s skin, and tattoo guns hold the needles that disburse the ink. Often tattoo guns are also referred to as tattoo machines, and they’ve been used for many years by both amateur tattoo artists and professional tattoo artists to create beautiful tattoos, and of course there have been many improvements and advancements for tattoo machines.
Tattoo guns were first developed in the late 1800’s, and people are often very surprised to find out that tattoo guns were actually invented by the same person that created something that almost everyone all over the world uses everyday: Thomas Edison, who invented the lightbulb. However, when tattoo guns were first invented, they were not the same machines that are found if you were to buy tattoo kits today. Instead, the device he invented was to be used for engraving, and at the end of the 1800’s, a few years later, another inventor took Edison’s design and figured out that it could also be used as a tattoo gun.
Since tattoo guns were created, they have continued to evolve into the guns we find in tattoo kits today. Modern day tattoo guns actually use electromagnets, which permit the tattoo artist to take complete control of the entire tattooing process. With electromagnetic force, the artist is given the ability to moderate how much depth the tattoo needle actually makes into a person’s skin, and also helps them control how fast the needle moves, thus allowing control over the overall tattoo process.
Tattoo machines are available in a variety of different sizes, and there are particular machines made for specific tasks. For example, some machines are made to work with just one color of ink, like using a specific one for tattooing with black tattoo ink, while some can be used to apply multiple colors at different times.
No matter what size or the purpose, taking care of the guns and also buying one that is well made is of the utmost importance, and before ordering a single gun or tattoo kits
, make sure to research the brand and read some reviews. Who knew Edison was making so many varying contributions?