Tattoo Needles
What is Tattoo Needles
Tattoo needles come in different sizes and configurations like liners, shaders, and mags. Each type of needle places ink in the skin differently, so you need the right tattoo needle to make sure your designs come out correctly.Tattoo needles come in different sizes and configurations like liners, shaders, and mags. Each type of needle places ink in the skin differently, so you need the right tattoo needle to make sure your designs come out correctly.
Why Choose Us
Customized Services
We understand that each customer has unique manufacturing needs. That’s why we offer customization options to cater to your specific requirements.
Rich Experience
Dedicated to strict quality control and attentive customer service, our experienced staff is always available to discuss your requirements and ensure complete customer satisfaction.
Quality Control
We have professional personnel to monitor the production process, inspect the products and ensure that the final product meets the required quality level standards, guidelines and specifications.
Long Warranty
We are confident in the quality of our products and are willing to provide you with long-term technical service support.
Advantages of Tattoo Needles
Versatility
Tattoo needles are available in a wide range of sizes and types, such as round tightening needles, round bulk needles, single-row straight needles, double-row cross needles and curved fork-row needles. This diversity allows the tattoo artist to choose the most appropriate type and size of tattoo needle based on the tattoo design, personal style and client needs.
01
Precision
The design of tattoo needles allows the artist to precisely control the thickness, depth and shape of the line to achieve a fine tattoo effect. This precision is one of the most important features of tattoo art and a major advantage of tattoo needles.
02
Durability
The use of high quality tattoo needles for tattooing ensures that the tattoo will be long lasting and stable. These needles are usually made of stainless steel or other high-quality materials that resist infection and fading, thus ensuring that the tattoo lasts.
03
Safety
Modern tattoo needles are usually designed with safety considerations in mind, such as sterilized and single-use needles. These designs can effectively reduce the risk of infection and spreading diseases, ensuring the safety and hygiene of the tattooing process.
04
Types of Tattoo Needles
1. Round Tattoo Needles
Round needles are needles that are soldered around a central shaft in round patterns. Round needles can be liners or shaders, depending on how close together they are placed. Round liners are packed tightly (close together), which makes them perfect for technical work, small lines and details. You might also see loose round liners. Loose round liners are used for thick, bold outlines like those found on Japanese-style tattoos. Round shaders are great for all-purpose color fill and basic shading.
Round needles are marked RL (Round Liner) or RS (Round Shader) for short. You'll almost always see them written with their number in front, like 9RL. The number in front tells you have many needles are used in the configuration, so a 9RL has 9 needles placed in a circle configuration, a 7RL has 7 and so on. If you're just starting out, you'll want to focus on round shaders in sizes 3, 5, 7, and 9 for some shading and filling in small areas.
Round needles use the same size tube, so if you’re using a 9RL needle, you’ll use a 9R tube. Pretty straightforward.
2. Flat Tattoo Needles
Flat needles are needles that are soldered in a straight line to a needle bar. These needles are the most popular for lining because their shape lets them deliver more ink to the skin. This means clearer, darker lines with just one stroke. Larger flat needles can be used for color fills and deliver more quickly with just one pass.
Flat needles are marked FL (Flat Liner) or, less often, FS (Flat Shader) for short. Just like round needles, these are written out with the number of pins in front, like 7FL or 5FS.
Also like round needles, flat needles use their twin-sized tubes, so a 7FL needle will use a 7F tube.
3. Magnum Tattoo Needles
Magnum needles are the go-to for almost all shading work. These sets have a longer taper that’s either the same or greater than the taper found on round shaders. Magnums deliver a lot of ink, making them ideal for large areas of color. Because they allow so much ink through, you’ll need less passes over an area using magnum needles, which means they’ll do less damage to the skin during multiple passes. There are a few variations of magnum needles
● Weaved Magnum Needles
Weaved magnums are soldered to a flat needle bar like flat needles, but they are soldered on alternating sides of the needle. So one needle would be soldered to the top, one two the bottom, another to the top, and so on; this means that they can cover more area.
Weaved magnums are always marked M1 with the number of needles beforehand. So a 5M1 would be a weaved magnum needle configuration with 5 needles soldered to a needle bar.
●Stacked Magnum Needles
Stacked magnums have two rows of needles on both sides of the bar, but these needles are positioned much more closely together. For example,
tacked magnums are marked as M2 with the number of needles beforehand. So 9M2 is a stacked magnum with 9 needles on the bar.
● Round Magnums / Curved Magnums
Round magnums (also called curved magnums) are a fairly new version of the magnum needle. Round (or rounded, both terms are correct) magnums are arranged so that the tips arch at the center. The concept is that this rounded edge conforms better to the skin, giving a more consistent line, better ink dispersion and doing less skin damage.
If that doesn't make a lot of sense, press down on the skin in your arm and notice how the pressed area makes an almost round hollow. Round magnums are designs to fit that round shape.
Round magnums are marked as RM with the number of needles beforehand. A 5RM is a 5 needle magnum with 5 needles to the bar and the rounded arrangement of points.
What to Pay Attention to When Buying Tattoo Needles
If you’re new to tattooing and order supplies on your own for the first time, you’ll be choosing between hundreds of brands and manufacturers. There are some basic signs of quality you’ll want to look for in every needle
If you ordered needles and they arrive crooked, bent or dull, you won’t want to use them. Bent, dull groupings can do major damage to the skin and won’t distribute ink evenly. It will do more harm than good.
Check where the needles attach to the bar or center rod
are the needles loose? If so, you won’t want to use them. Loose needles are at risk for coming off during your session and can cause the same issues as crooked, dull groupings.
Unless you want to spend a big chunk of your life autoclaving brand new needles, check to make sure the needles you’re ordering have been pre-sterilized. Pre-sterilized needles will be individually packed, labeled as sterile and marked with a lot number and expiration date. Keep this information for your records. If you’re ever unsure of the information (or you’re unsure the needles met sterilization standards), request a copy of the sterilization certificate from the supplier. Suppliers are required to keep this information on hand and should have no problem sending you a copy.
A needle grouping is useless to you if you don’t have the right tools to use it. Make sure it’s a standard set-up grouping if you aren’t using a cartridge machine and make sure you have the right parts to make it work. For example, if you’re buying bugpin needles, do you have the smaller tubes you’ll need? If you have tubes, do you have grips on hand? Making sure you have it all before you order will save you a lot of time and trouble.
Tattoo Needle Sizes Explained
Now you know all about different needle groupings or types, it’s time to look at needle diameters, also known as gauges.
The gauge of a tattoo needle is directly linked to ink flow. The narrower the gauge or diameter, the more controlled and finer the flow of ink is. The gauge is indicated by a number (usually 8, 10 or 12), and diameter by a millimetre measurement. ALTHOUGH THEY MEAN THE SAME THING! Needle manufacturers and tattoo suppliers use both terminologies depending on where the needles are from and being sold to i.e. country/language.
#8 gauge (0.25mm diameter)
One of the smaller needle gauges available (but not the smallest) and sometimes referred to as Bugpins. Used when wanting a slower flow of ink for intricate or detailed work. Some use #8 gauge needles for most of their work simply because they like that they hold more ink at a time (as the pins are more tightly compacted).
#10 Gauge (0.30mm Diameter)
A very common needle size. Also referred to as Double Zeros. Popular with all styles of tattooing and needle groupings as fundamentally they are the middle gauge size (when accepting 8, 10 and 12 as the main three gauges). The ink flow on 0.30mm needles is still a steady, controlled flow but not as restricted and slow as an #8 or 0.25mm.
#12 Gauge (0.35mm Diameter)
Just like the 0.30mm needles. #12 gauges are highly popular across all needle groupings and tattoo styles. Anyone referring to #12 or 0.35mm needles may also call them Standards. Common in lining and traditional work as they have a faster ink flow. Great for bold lines and colour packing/shading large areas.Other needle sizes not mentioned above .#6 or 0.20mm, #14 or 0.40 and #16 or 0.45mm! These are quite uncommon now though as they only have very few specific uses.
Tattoo Needle Configuration
1. Round liner Needles
Round lining needles are round and dense and are indicated by RL. The number of stitches divided is the thickness needed to differentiate when lining.
● Features
High line saturation, good for color packing.
● Use range
Mostly used for lining and shading in small areas. Dot work. All lining work, including bold and complex. Scripts and lettering. Japanese,traditional tattoo.
2. Round Shader Needles
RS is a round shader needle, according to the habits of different tattoo artists, there are also someone who choose RS as the old school lining options.
● Features
The round shader is very similar to the round liner tattoo cartridges, except that the pins are not placed as close together.
● Use range
Commonly used for some line work, basic coloring packcing and filling.
3. Round Magnum Needles
Round Magnum is similar to the weaved magnum, the difference with M1 needles is that RM is arranged in a straight row, and the top of curved magnum needles are”fan-shaped arrangement”. The edge of the needle runs more smoothly along the skin and the ink is better dispersed, resulting in more consistent lines. RM is also less damaging to the skin and helps achieve soft shadows.
● Features
Excellent for light and dark gradient tattoo work, shading uniformity.
● Use range
Mainly used in black and gray. All types of shading and color packing, color fidelity.
4. Weaved Magnum Needles
The M1 is a cross-shaped row of needles and is the most versatile, with the widest range of coloring packing applications. Weaved Magnum needles can hold and deliver large amounts of ink, making them perfect for large area packing coloring.
● Features
Excellent for light and dark gradient tattoo work, shading uniformity.
● Use range
Commonly used in black and gray. All types of shades and color packing, traditional and neo-traditional.
5. Flat Needles
Flat is used to repair the edges and sharp corners of the tattoo work, or small tattoo mostly.
Small area color packing commonly used needle type for 4F 5F 6F 7F. Due to the low hardness and easy deformation of flat needles, which is less commonly used at present.
RL or round liner needles are used for lining. RS or round shader are used for shading. Flats are used for areas with geometric shapes and shading. Weaved magnums are used for shading, blending and coloring large areas. Stacked magnums are used for shading, blending and coloring tighter large areas. Both can be used for lining if you turn the needle to the side. This does take a bit of skill to do, so only do it if you have practiced the technique enough or else you may end up damaging the skin. Round curve magnums are used for shading, blending and coloring large areas with less impact to the skin. The needles are made in an arch formation to better deflect the skin when it goes in and out. With a regular magnum, there is potential for the edges of the mag to dig into the skin, with a round magnum, the arch of the needle will allow you to move more freely on the skin without the risk of the edges digging in.
So how to use tattoo needles like rounds, magnums and curved magnums? Rounds are quite straight forward. The larger the area of coverage, the larger count needle you would use. For thicker lines, use a larger count round liner. Pigment dispersal using a magnum is smoother than rounds. A good comparison would be a round liner is a pen while a magnum is a magic marker. Proper use of a magnum takes a bit of practice. The magnum should always hit the skin at an angle. If it goes in straight and not at an angle it will stick into the skin which will cause the needle to jump. Always drag the magnum across the skin by pulling it across. Do not push forward as this will cause the magnum to dig into the skin causing pain and getting the needle caught. Color in a circular motion, a magnum, being wider, will cover more area faster than a conventional round. Wipe the skin often so you can pay attention to the texture while you are using a magnum.
● Sterile and Individually Sealed
Each Quantum Tattoo Cartridge is sterile and comes individually wrapped to ensure the utmost safety for your clients. They can watch you open it right in front of them.
● Compatible With Your Machine
Quantum Tattoo Cartridges are universally compatible with most rotary machines including the most popular and trusted brands. You won’t have to invest in a whole new machine to use our tattoo needle cartridges.
● Made With High-Quality Materials
Quantum Tattoo Cartridge needles are ultra sharp and made with the highest-quality Japanese steel.
● Superior Construction
Quantum Tattoo Cartridges have a unique stabilizing system, made from medical plastic, to reduce friction between the needle and housing. This provides both a quieter experience and more precise results.
● Closed Tip for Stability
We worked with tattoo artists to develop the Quantum Tattoo Cartridge closed tip system. While switching colors may take an extra second or two, you will save time with fewer refills. The added stability is well worth the effort.
● Backflow Prevention
Quantum Tattoo Cartridges keep your clients safe and your machine in tip-top shape with our special backflow prevention valve. You will never have to worry about cross-contamination.
The tattoo needle has come on in leaps and bounds throughout history, and it is important to get a good grasp on it to understand modern tattoo equipment.
The earliest recorded tattoo needles were dated back before 3000BC where a collection of small, bronze needles were found on a dig in Egypt. These bronze needles were dated back to 1450 BC, and are an integral part of art history.
Around the world, single needle tattooing has been immensely popular and was a staple technique in almost every country, from Japan to New Zealand. Tattoo artists had to have a strong level of ingenuity, as they often had to make their own tools and customize their own needles.
Single needle tattoos were gradually replaced in the mainstream tattoo market when Thomas Edison created his electric stencil pen, and Samuel O’Reilly adapted it into the electric rotary tattoo machine. The development of tattoo machines influenced the development of tattoo needles on bar, basically tattoo needles, soldered on a bar or long piece of cylindrical metal with hook to attach to tattoo machine.
The development of soldering needles onto a bar allowed for the creation of the wide variety of needle groupings soldered together you see today.
Our Factory
Yiwu DM Tattoo Equipment Manufactory was established in 2009. We are located in Yiwu City, China's largest small commodity producing city ! Our factory specializes in the manufacture and export of tattoo equipment.
We are focusing on R & D and production of tattoo machines and cartridge needles, with very high experience and ideas. And successfully provide customized standards for global customers.
Our aim is to build long-term relationship with tattoo suppliers and tattoo artists based on our guaranteed products, customer service and great prices.
If you're ready for a reliable supplier and top quality products – We are at your service.
FAQ
As one of the most professional tattoo needles manufacturers in China, we're featured by quality products and low price. Please rest assured to buy or wholesale customized tattoo needles from our factory. Contact us for free sample and discount information.
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