Traditional Tattoo Needles
What is Traditional Tattoo Needles
Often referred to as a standard or standard 12, there is a very common and popular needle especially in traditional work, bold lining, and color packing as it offers more ink flow and larger penetration area.
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Advantages of Traditional Tattoo Needles
Customizability
Traditional tattoo needles allow for a high degree of customization and control. Tattoo artists can select the exact type, size, and shape of needle they prefer for a particular tattoo design or technique. This flexibility isn't always possible with modern tattoo machines, which often use cartridges with preset needles.
Precision
Traditional tattoo needles can be used to create extremely precise and detailed tattoos. Because the artist can directly control the needle, they can place ink exactly where they want it, creating crisp lines and intricate patterns.
Durability
Well-made traditional tattoo needles can last for years with proper care and maintenance. Unflike some modern tattoo machines and cartridges, they are not subject to wear and tear from constant use.
Portability
Traditional tattoo needles are typically smaller and lighter than modern tattoo machines, making them easier to transport and store. This is particularly useful for tattoo artists who travel frequently or work in multiple locations.
When looking at a page of tattoo needles on a website or in a catalogue, it can seem a little overwhelming with all the different options available. No need to worry though! Here’s where the learning begins.
All these options fall into six basic groupings of tattoo needles:
Round Liners, Round Shaders, Magnum Shaders, Curved Magnum Shaders, Flat Shaders and Double Stacks. Below we go into more detail on each type.
1. Round Liner needles
The pins on round liner needles are soldered in a round pattern to produce crisp, clean lining tattoo work. The thickness of the line will depend on the number round liner you choose (e.g. 01 very fine, 14 very thick) as well as the thickness/gauge of each pin (see Tattoo Needle Sizes below). Lining needles, once dipped in your ink, will let only small amounts of ink out to then be worked into the skin. If too much ink was let out, lining would be quite a task!
Commonly Used for：Dot work. All lining work both bold and intricate. Script and lettering. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Geometric. Tribal. Samoan.
2. Round Shader needles
Round shaders are very similar to round liners except the pins are not placed as close together. Meaning, for as well as doing thicker lines, they can also be used for colour filling and basic shading.
Commonly Used for：Some line work. Script and lettering. Basic shading and colour filling. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Geometric. Tribal. Samoan.
3. Magnum Shader needles
Magnum shaders are the preferred grouping or needle type for pretty much all shading work. Magnums hold and deliver a lot of ink, making them perfect for large areas of colour packing and shading. Less passes are required over an area to work the ink in meaning less trauma to the skin. There are a few different variations of magnum needles. See below.
Commonly Used for：Black and grey. All types of shading and colour packing. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan.
4. Curved Magnum Shader needles
Curved magnum shaders – also known as soft magnums, soft edge magnums and round magnums – are used in the same way except the pins are arranged so they arch at the centre. Meaning the edges of the needle run along the skin with more conformity, allowing for better dispersal of ink and a more consistent line. It’s also less damaging to the skin and helps with soft shading.
Commonly Used for：Black and grey. All types of shading and colour packing. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan.
5. Double Stack Magnum Shader needles
Not as current as they maybe once were. The pins on double stack magnums, or double stacks, are packed much more tightly together. This helps for any intricate shading or colour work where you still want it to perform as a magnum with many pins but not as spread out.
Commonly Used for：Shading and colour packing. Black and grey. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan.
6. Flat Shader Needles
Flat shader needles are pins that are soldered in a straight line on the needle bar. These needles are used 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 colour fills and shading as they deliver more ink quickly with just one pass. Flat needles are good for intricate shading such as in geometric patterns and some mandala work. Flat shader needles are also common in semi-permanent makeup.
Commonly Used for：Some line work. Small shading and colour packing. Black and grey. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan. Geometric.
What is the Difference between Traditional Tattoo Needles and Tattoo Needle Cartridges?
● Traditional tattoo needle
Traditional Traditional Tattoo Needles are a group of needles that are soldered together with the needle bar. They form a tattoo needle configuration on the bar. There is a loop at the end of the rod that hooks to connect to the tattoo machine, the needle tips are always exposed while tattooing, such a design will bring safety risks, and tattoo artists cannot have the maximum needle control.
● Tattoo Needle Cartridges
The tattoo cartridges is an assembly mechanism that securely holds the Traditional Tattoo Needles inside.
The tattoo needle configuration is glued into a tubular plastic piece called a plunger. The plunger is hosted in a plastic housing, which is sealed by a membrane cap.
The membrane (made of silica gel) is the mechanism that constantly pulls the tattoo needle back into the housing.
Tattoo Needle Cartridges Evolution
In the last few years’ needles, as used in the art of tattooing, have come a long way. As people’s requirements for safe conditions for tattoos increase, so does the demand for safety solutions. This led to the invention of the tattoo cartridge.
The principle behind the operation of the cartridge is that the needle tip is only exposed when the tattoo machine is running.
The evolutionary development of this modular system is that the inner structure of the cartridge constantly pulls the needle back to the tip, so the tattoo machine pushes the needle out.
The needle has a housing mechanism. Therefore, when you stop the machine, the needle retraction mechanism will pull the needle back into the cartridge, preventing keeps the tattoo artists and customers safe from being exposed to the needle tips.
Both the tattoo artists and the client are at risk of infection during the tattooing process, so safety always comfes first in tattooing.
Traditional Traditional Tattoo Needles do not have any protection and if the artist is accidentally poked by the needle, he may get infected by the client’s potential disease (eg HIV or any other blood transmitted disease). That’s why the cartridge was born.
With cartridges, can only poke customers while the machine is running. In this way, the risk of cross-contamination is greatly reduced, providing highest level of safety.
Today, tattoo cartridges are all disposable. We do not reuse or sterilize cartridges; they are for one customer only.
How to Pick the Right Needle Count for Your Tattoo
When choosing round liners, keep your line weight (thickness) in mind. If you want a heavy line weight, you’d pick a larger needle count.
When choosing Traditional Tattoo Needles for shading, pick the largest needle count the tattoo will allow. A back tattoo will have tons of space to fill in, so you’d pick a bigger needle, like a 15 or 23 mag.
Why is needle configuration important?
The configuration determines what the ink will look like in the skin, and what job you should use each needle for.
However, here’s a quick list of what each configuration should be used for
● Round liners
Line work and small details
● Round shaders
Shading in smaller areas and tight corners
● Magnum needles
Shading large areas, packing color
How to Buy Traditional Tattoo Needles: Traditional Needles vs. Tattoo Needle Cartridges
You’ll see two types of needles when you’re shopping “traditional” needles, which have a long needle bar, and cartridges, which have a plastic casing.
You will most often see traditional needles on coil tattoo machines. Most rotary machines and pen machines use needle cartridges.
Be Mindful with Tattoo Needle Codes & Diameters
Every tattoo needle has its unique identity to recognize the type. As according to the purpose one should choose the needle based on its outcome. The Tattoo needle-type can be classified seeing the codes. For instance, it can be as a code 1204RL; the name of needle and type along with the short description which is quite essential to understand the difference.
1. Needle diameters
The general the Element Tatto Supplier uses a particular format based on the diameters e.g. #12 0.35 mm. Here #12 is the standard round liner. To consider, #12 is the largest size and the most preferred one.
2. Tattoo needle counts & groupings
The codes are commonly inclusive of middle digits which refers to the number of needles in the group. For example, in a code 1204RL, 04 indicates the 4 #12 of diameter needles are in a group. The group has letters at the end of the code. Here RL stands for Round Liner, which clearly mentions that the needle is useable for the lining artwork.
To make a clear vision over a grouping of the needles here is the clarification:
● RL – Round Liner
●RLXT – Super Tight Round Liner
● RLXP – Extra Super Tight Round Liner
● RS – Round Shader
● T – Textured Round Shader
● F – Flat
● M1 – Magnum
● M2 – Stacked Magnum
● M1c – Curved Magnum
The taper of the needle affects the amount of ink that can flow from the needle.
The longer the taper, the less ink can be distributed. Slower distribution of ink allows you to build up layers and create smoother blends, but it takes a long time to tattoo this way.
While a little less precise, short tapered needles are considered the industry standard because they allow for a steady flow of ink and efficiently pack color into the skin without the need to constantly go back over an area.
Which taper you pick will determine what design you’re tattooing. For example, detailed realism might need a longer taper, while American Traditional would use a short taper.
Traditional tattoo needles are a group of needles that means needle bars solder together. They form a tattoo needle configuration on the bar. Cartridge tattoo needles are glued into a plastic piece called the plunger. The plunger is hosted in a plastic house which is sealed by the membrane cap. The membrane is the mechanism that continuously pulls the tattoo needles back into the housing. Coil and some rotary machines can use traditional tattoo needles, and a tattoo pen and some rotary machines can use cartridge tattoo needles. It all depends on the machine you use.
1. Does this work with my gear?
Be sure to check the needles you are looking to purchase will match your setup. Make sure you have or buy the correct tubes or tips to match your needle gauge, size, and type.
2 .Are the needles pre-sterilized and well made?
Wormhole Tattoo Traditional Needles are made of medical-grade stainless steel. Standard-length to fit all tattoo tubes and tattoo machines. Each tattoo needle has its own sealed package and comes with a blue dot. Each needle is individually stamped with expiration and sterilization dates.
Wormhole Tattoo cartridge needles are specially designed to catch more ink and make the tattoo ink flow well. Light grey and different color tail cover to help you to recognize the type. Tattoo needles are sharper that puncture the skin quickly and work stably. Rubber plug connection, good resilience, prevent tattoo ink flow back.
- Condition
- 100% New and work well
3 .Are these tattoo needles right for what I want to do?
You don’t want to buy some 15 magnum needles if you specifically need to carry out some sleek linework. The same applies if you need to fill in some large color or do some soft shading; you don’t want to end up realizing you’ve bought some small round liner needles. Again, be sure to check out our handy guide above which will indicate what type of tattoo work each needle configuration is used for.
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 traditional tattoo needles manufacturers in China, we're featured by quality products and low price. Please rest assured to buy or wholesale customized traditional tattoo needles from our factory. Contact us for free sample and discount information.
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