Rebirth of the Green Monster, Birth Defect?

 I love Eikon Device's Green Monster coil tattoo machines. They are great machines at a relatively low price-point (less than $200). They include the innovation Tru-Spring armature bar and springs and separate the coil from the capacitor for simpler maintenance.  Their performance is consistently excellent.  

 To be fair, these were also the machines being talked about as THE standard for production machines when I was learning to tattoo.  Maybe Eikon simply did an excellent job in marketing the machines, or maybe they really were the first to do something radical like take specific measurements of machine speed, performance, and the way that the various components of the device worked together.  The Green Monster did seem to have a major impact on the industry, creating a need for power-supplies that offered a measurement of your machine's output instead of just a 1-10 power-setting.  It also seemed to create an awareness among tattooers regarding what precisely their machines where doing and why. There are better coil machines on the market today, but I would argue that the Green Monster defined the standards upon which many of those machines are based.

The Original

 Naturally, when I received an email from Eikon Device offering an updated version of the classic Green Monster, I was excited. The big change is the coil-position on the frame; they are moved forward on the frame-base to improve the performance of the machine. Everything else about the machine is fairly standard.  They do offer the additional sales pitch about every machine being "hand tuned by Mack Bregg".  That was the first red-flag in my mind, albeit a minor one.  Who is Mack Bregg, and how does he know how I like my machine to perform?  What tattooer in his or her right mind starts tattooing with a machine straight out of the box without checking it and making adjustments?  Are we also to expect that whatever Mack did with the timing-screw actually held while the machine was being jostled through the shipping process? 

 This, however, is the real issue for me.

Yeah, like this one.

 What is that?  It looks like a rubber medallion set in the machine frame. Maybe it is a medal stamp, but whatever. Look at the space between the edge of the medallion and the frame itself.  Now, imagine what can get in there.  It is a bacteria trap!  How are you supposed to clean that? While it is not a huge design flaw in regards to performance, it is major step in the wrong direction when it comes to ease of maintenance with the machine. The original Green Monster had no adornments; simplicity and efficiency made the machine what it is.  I want this machine, I really do, but Eikon may as well have just welded one of those gaudy belt-buckle face-plates to the uprights on the frame.  That medallion makes just about as much sense.   

 In conclusion, IF I do actually get one of these machines (and it is a big if), I know I will want to see if I can pop that thing out of the frame.  I know how important branding is, and getting away from the green paint-job is a plus for myself and other fans of the Green Monster, but, really?  It is a near-miss, Eikon Device, and you lost points because you went for a little flourish on the end.  

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/

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/