The Downside of New Machine Systems

 Originally, I was just going to make a short statement about this on my Facebook Page: Tattoo Nerd Facebook, but it turned into a full-blown post.

Seth Ceferri Workhorse Iron Machine

 I use coil tattoo machines, a tattoo system that has been in existence for decades.  The system is simple; two coils form and electromagnet that actuates an armature bar assembly.  The downward pull on the bar disrupts the electrical circuit, releasing the bar until is makes contact and re-established the circuit.  This system has been in use for so long that we now have standardization in components and a broad base of supplier for parts and accessories (tubes, needles, grommets, etc.).

 Rotary machines have recently made a resurgence.  Most people are surprised to learn that rotary systems where one of the first electric-tattoo systems, pre-dating coil machine systems.  Rotary machines where initially developed by Thomas Edison as a means to create documents that could be copied by perforating the original and then using ink-rollers to transfer the original to new paper. Sam O'Reilly took Edison's "Electric Pen", redesigned the tube-assembly and added an ink reservoir, then patented the electric tattoo machine in 1891.  Edison later modified his pen with an electric coil, and in 1904 Charlie Wagner modified that design for use in tattoo.  

Cheyenne Hawk 

 Modern rotary machines are smaller, quieter, and far more consistent than a standard coil tattoo machine.  Most of these machines make use of the same accessories as coil machines, the same tubes and needles.  Their growing popularity among tattoo artists has resulted in a number of other machine systems entering into the market-place.  One such system is the Cheyenne Hawk.  The Hawk builds on the rotary tattoo system by including a special grip and cartridge assembly, replacing the standard tube and needle.  The advantage is that pigment and other contaminants do not go up the tube and reach the machine, making the Cheyenne Hawk in theory cleaner and safer than standard systems.

Cheyenne Cartridges.  Stock up!

 New devices are designed to look very high tech and operate using novel systems.  The Centri Cobra is one such machine; using two magnets to create a centrifugal force that actuates the needle bar.  This makes the movement of the machine virtually without friction, which should result in smoother operation and greater control.  The cobra comes with a built in spot-lamp, a feature that is popular on many new devices.  

 The problems with these new machines is the price, and it is not all in the initial cost.  As I stated, with a coil machine system I can purchase components from a broad base of suppliers.  Maintenance and modification of my coil machines is simple and I have numerous options.  A Workhorse Iron coil machine runs about $500 (you can get a machine for much, much less).  If the coils on my Workhorse go bad, I can replace them for as little as $20 if I want to go cheap, and no more than $50 if I want top-of-the-line coils.  With a system like the Cheyenne Hawk, I have to use the needle cartridges and grips for their system.  If the Cheyenne company goes out of business, I have a a $600 device (drive and grips) that are rendered useless when suppliers run out of cartridges.  With the Cobra, if something fails with my $600 device, I have to purchase another $600 Cobra if I want to continue using that kind of machine.  

Centri Cobra, from the future!

 This is the reason for the continued success of the coil-machine system; your initial investment is easy to maintain.  The innovations of new devices are interesting, but the marginal improvements in use and convenience (many systems are designed to offer multiple types of stroke, but switching from one machine to another when going from lining to shading really is not that difficult) do not really make up for the high initial price and long-term maintenance costs.  More over, many artists who use rotary machines or some other new system have a set of coil machines as a back-up for when their more modern system fails.

 That speaks volumes, in my opinion.

 Jason Sorrell is a writer, tattoo artist, satirist, artist, and generally nice guy living in Austin, TX.  He loves answering questions about tattoos.  Shoot him a message at https://www.facebook.com/tattoonerdz/

Changes in Intenze Tattoo Ink Packaging

 I use a mix of tattoo inks from a number of trusted manufacturers.  One of those companies is Intenze, the ink I used while learning to tattoo.  What I like about Intenze is its consistency (a word that will make or break a tattoo artist, as those who read my posts have probably noticed), you can count on Intenze to consistently deliver quality, long-lasting ink.  Their reputation is so well known that counterfeit inks have found their way to the market.  The situation is bad enough that Intenze felt it necessary to respond with a video advisory.

 A legitimate bottle of Intenze Ink has several things that separate it from imitators.  The bottle cap is clear with a black base.  The bottle itself is made of a hard plastic that is difficult to squeeze.  The bottle has a letter "M" (Mario Barth's logo, one of the pioneers of tattoo ink manufacturing) stamped on the bottom.  Most importantly, the bottles have a protective foil seal letting you know the ink has not be tampered with since the bottle was produced.

 The last six bottles of Intenze that I had purchased all came this way, so I was surprised when I received a bottle of Dark Purple Intenze Ink which had none of these earmarks of legitimacy.  The bottle has an all black cap, is far softer than the other bottles of Intenze, has no "M" stamped on it, and (most disconcerting), has no internal foil seal.

 I had received this bottle from a trusted supplier, Element Tattoo Supply, who I had nothing but positive exchanges with in the past.  In fact, they are on the Intenze List of Authorized Dealers, so it was more than odd to receive a product that everything told me was a fake.  When I reached out to them, they informed me that Intenze was changing over to this new bottle.

 I found that hard to believe.  This bottle was everything that Intenze warned us not to trust, or so it seemed.  I immediately reached out to Intenze about the bottle, and had some exchanges with Christine Brown, who informed me that Intenze was in fact switching to a new bottle.  She herself was not certain of all the details, but she promised to have someone to reach out to me.

 The person who finally clarified all of this was James McLaughlin, Marketing Director of Intenze.  James confirmed for me the change to the new type of bottle which is based on feed-back from other artists, and relieved my greatest concern about the bottle lacking an internal seal.

 The new bottles are improved in a couple of significant ways.  They are softer, which makes them easier to squeeze.  This is important when the bottle gets about half-full and you are in the middle of a tattoo trying to squeeze the ink into an ink-cap while wearing cloves.  The other improvement is the cap.  The bottle lacks on internal safety seal, but now has a cap with two built-in seals.  The entire cap comes off after breaking one seal, while the funnel opens after break the second.  The seals are similar to those found on quarts of milk, but made of a far sturdier plastic that cracks open when the cap or funnel is twisted. 

 The roll-out of the new bottle appears to be gradual, meaning that for a time both types of caps will be available on the market.  Along with the new cap, always check the bottle's ingredients (no phosphates are used in Intenze ink), confirm that it has the Intenze address, no bar code, and that you are purchasing the ink from an authorized dealer.  It is always worth the effort to verify the source of your supplies, both to protect your customers and yourself.

 
Jason Sorrell is a writer, tattoo artist, satirist, artist, and generally nice guy living in Austin, TX.  He loves answering questions about tattoos.  Shoot him a message at https://www.facebook.com/tattoonerdz/