“Before Tattoo” Informational Video

This is the video that I show every client before they get their tattoo, which explains in great detail why I believe it is necessary to use entirely new tattoo equipment. I used to autoclave tattoo equipment… but I now firmly believe it is morally necessary to use NOTHING that has EVER come into contact with anyone’s blood. No matter who does your tattoo……..I want you to be an informed consumer. For more information visit: http://www.luckyfish.com

How to Setup a Tattoo Machine

Find a comfortable chair for the tattoo artist. Purchase a rolling, padded stool or chair with a back that adjusts to various heights.

Use an old barber or dentist chair for clients. Odd as this may sound, genuine tattooing furniture can be pricey whereas you can pick these up fairly cheap. The hydraulic lift allows you to place customers at the height you need, the covering tends to be easy-to-clean vinyl and many of these chairs tilt back for easier access to areas like the stomach. It’s best to find one with removable arms for more versatility.

Buy a massage table for added client comfort during lengthy tattoo sessions. It’s perfect for doing lower legs (no need to prop up the leg), backs of the legs, insides of the arms and some back tattoos.

Look to well-known companies that specialize in tattooing furniture. Recognized as the global leader in the tattoo furniture industry, TatSoul designs chairs to accommodate any position you need to comfortably tattoo a client anywhere on her body.

Research companies that sell discounted tattoo chairs without some of the bells and whistles. Most companies specializing in custom tattoo chairs are on the high end of the pricing scale.

Get armrests, neck rests and bolsters so clients and artists are more comfortable.

As a business owner there is always a list of steps to follow in order to open your shop. Opening a tattoo studio is the same, but with a few differences in regard to state regulations that may be in place for this type of business. Each state has their own rules in regards to tattoo studios, so your first step is to check on these. Depending on your state’s regulations, you may not have to complete every step.

Legal and Financial Aspects
1.

Check with the Department of Health in the state where you are opening your tattoo studio. Find out which division, if any, is in charge of regulating the tattoo industry. Some states will be governed by the Department of Cosmetology instead of the Health Department, but the Health Department should be able to give you this information. A few states are unregulated, so you are on your own in regards to health and safety issues. If you are in a regulated state, then you usually have to purchase a license to operate and there may also be local ordinances to look into, as well.
2.

Learn the business. Not only do you need to know the list of regulations you must follow if your shop is in a regulated state, you also need to learn the similarities and difference between running a tattoo shop compared to running other types of shops. If you’ve never owned your own business, then you’ll be starting from scratch and may want to seek help from the Small Business Administration to find out about taxes, insurance and other aspects of business ownership.
3.

Write a business plan. Having this in place will help make managing your finances easier and more efficient. You can find business plan software and companies to help you with this or hire an accountant to do much of this for you. A business plan will also let you know how much money you need to invest in your business, so you can justify this amount if you need to apply for a business loan.
4.

Buy business software to track sales and expenses, schedule clients and employees, control inventory, manage accounts payable and provide other tools necessary to track every aspect of your business. Train any personnel that will be responsible in updating the various computer forms you’ll be using. This could include a receptionist, bookkeeper and shop manager, but keep in mind that having too many people playing with the numbers could cause inaccuracies that will have to be fixed at the end of the week, month, quarter and year.
5.

Create inventory sheets to track all the supplies needed to keep the shop running. Once you’ve taken the initial inventory counts, it’s easier to track changes to this inventory and make daily or weekly ordering easier by entering the data into a program on the computer. There are different programs available for inventory control, so you can choose the one you are most comfortable using. Once this program has been set up, keep it updated on a regular basis to know what’s in stock and what needs to be ordered.
6.

Start a system for tracking appointments for each tattoo artist. You may keep this information on the computer and/or use a physical calendar that is accessible to every employee. Besides a way to track appointments, you will also need a filing system to keep client information together and easy to find. Keeping up with client information, especially when their next appointment is scheduled, is an important aspects of managing your shop. It will also help you set and track employee schedules.
7.

Develop a marketing plan to manage your advertising campaign for the tattoo studio. Advertising your shop is a must to let people know what you offer, where you’re located and how they can contact you. You can find adverting experts who can help you with this aspect, as well. Advertising will also include signage for the front of the shop and business cards.
Setting up Shop
8.

Find a location to house your tattoo studio. Keep in mind the number of tattoo artists you will need stations for and how these stations need to be set up. If they need separate rooms and sinks, then you may have to remodel the location you find. You must check with the owner, if you’re renting, to ensure this is okay. Once the shop is rented, or purchased, have the utilities turned on and any remodeling completed.
9.

Hire tattoo artists. Write up contracts for each artist outlining what the shop will provide for them and what they will provide themselves in the form of tattooing supplies and earnings. Some shops will provide everything, except an artist’s individual equipment; others will supply some of the artists’ disposables including paper towels, gloves, green soap, bandaging supplies and ointment; still others won’t provide anything and each artist takes care of their own inventory and ordering. The amount of items supplied may determine the percentage of money an artist keeps from each completed tattoo compared to what the shop gets.
10.

Buy equipment and furniture to set up tattoo stations, and the lobby, office area and break room (if one is provided). Individual tattoo artists you hire should bring their own tattooing equipment including guns, power supplies and possibly needles and other supplies. You most likely will provide tattooing furniture, filing cabinets, desks or drawing tables. For the lobby area, you need places for customers to sit and a place to display artists’ portfolios. In the office, you need office furniture and a computer to house your business software, daily records and inventory.
11.

Set up a flash room. This is where you place your flash art for customers to look through. Some shops have a separate room for this area, but others will keep their flash in the lobby. Either way, you will need to purchase flash to display. Even shops that specialize in custom tattoos will generally have some flash available.
12.

Purchase start up supplies. This is when your inventory software will come into play. The amount and type of supplies you purchase will depend on the agreement you’ve made with your individual tattoo artists. If the artists supply all of their own supplies, then the only supplies you need are you own personal supplies, office supplies and any items for resale including aftercare products; otherwise you’ll not only need these items, but also a list of purchases based on what you agreed the shop would provide.
13.

Decorate the shop. Add any final touches to the tattoo studio that makes it uniquely yours and to make it feel more inviting to your customers. This may include a sound system to play music, which is common or televisions if you want to provide entertainment to those waiting on friends getting tattooed. Turn on the open sign, you’re ready to go.

How to Tattoo

Part 1,

Equipment

Tools, Needles and needle making equipment:

Tattoo machines – You will need at least 2-3 reliable tattoo machines to start off with. One machine is set up and used for doing the outline; this is called the liner. The other two machines, the Shaders, should be used for the shading and colouring. The differences between them are the speed that they run at, the types of tubes and tips used, and the size and amount of needles. Usually one to five needles for a liner, and five to eleven needles for shading.

Tattoo machine parts – An assortment of spare parts such as coils, springs, capacitors, screws and wires.

Tubes – You will need several sizes of surgical grade stainless steel shader and liner tubes. Single use, plastic disposable tubes are also acceptable. Bear in mind that many tattoo machines’ tubes are specially manufactured for specific tattoo machines, so expect to pay premium prices for these. A good start would be buying at least 3-4 of each of the following sizes to start with. Buy 3D, 5D, 8R, 14R, 7M, and 13M.

Needles – I recommend 20 of each type of grouping to begin with. Buy 3R, 5R, 8R, 14R, 7M, and 13M.

Needle bars – These are used to hold the needles which penetrate the skin and you will need a lot of these. Needle bars come in 2 types, flat ended and round. Needle bars are specially manufactured for tattoo machines, so expect to pay premium prices for these.

Elastic bands – Elastic bands are essential to prevent the Needlebar from rattling when it is motion. They usually come in packets of 1000.

Feeler gauge – For adjusting the contact points. Sometimes fine tuning your machine will require a little help from a friend, and the feeler gauge will come in handy and be that friend.

Soldering gun – Used to solder the needles together and then to attach them to the needle bars

Lead-free stainless solder – Used to solder needles together as well as to connect the needles to the needle bars. You will require a good quality soldering iron for the job, because cheap soldering irons wear out quickly as well as make more problems than solve them.

Liquid flux – Purchased from a tattoo equipment supplier.

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) – This is used to make a solution of sodium bicarbonate, by adding a teaspoon of your baking soda to a beaker of water. The solution is needed to neutralize the acid flux after soldering the needles onto the needle bars. Purchased from any supermarket.

Needle block – This is an aluminium block with different sized holes, used to group loose needles together, and holds them while you solder them. Purchased from a tattoo equipment supplier.

Small model paintbrush

Paperweight

Plastic beaker

Needle making jig – To make needle groups.

Needle Bar jig – To place the the groups of needles onto the needle bars.

Eye Loupe – To inspect the tips of the needleas as well as the groupings.

Tweezers – To hold whatever needs to be held.

Power:

Power supply unit – You will need a good unit that provides steady DC current to your machine. Just like most things in life, you will get what you pay for and PS units can run up to $200 each. The best units are the newer, digital models that allow for multiple machines to run simultaneously. Power Supply 15v 1-3 Amp.

Clipcord – A clip cord connects the power supply unit to the tattoo machine. Buy two, one as a backup.
Footswitch – This is a pedal that allows electricity to go to your tattoo machine. Works just like a light switch, on and off. A foot pedal enables control of the power without using your hands. Definitely buy two of these because they can get beaten up and worn out in no time.

Drawing

2-5 of either Technical Pens of different sizes, black fine liners, or Sharpy pens

A set of 12-24 Colour pencils, watercolours pencils, markers or inks – Use whichever you are most proficient with.

Liquid paper/white correction fluid – Self-explanatory.

5-10 Graphite drawing pencils – Pencils have different tones, from black to very light grey. Upon the pencils, are ratings that indicate their tone, either H, B, to HB to F, followed by a number. The higher or lower the # is, indicates the hardness or softness of the graphite in the pencil. Buy a wide spectrum of tones and use them all, each has its own purpose.

Erasers/Rubbers – Use white vinyl eraser and/or kneaded erasers.

Blenders/Shaders/Smudgers – Use either a proper pencil blender, a Cotton stick/Q-tip or a folded paper towelette and some Vaseline.

Drawing paper or regular photocopy paper – For sketching.

Good quality paper – This is for final drawings that do not require erasing or refining. Buy 80lb – 120lb paper.

Pad of Tracing paper

Clear low tack Scotch tape

Light Table – You can build these quite easily and cheaply, or you can spend some dollars to get one and just be done with it.

Several different sizes of draftsman or architect circle gauges.

Several different sizes of draftsman or architect triangles or right angles.

Good steel ruler

Carbon paper – This is used to transfer drawings

If you have a computer, then you can do some of or all of the drawing and designing on it. Using the computer will not be discussed here. Go buy a computer book dammit.

Furniture

Work table – You will need at least one linoleum or glass top table to rest most of your items on right next to you. The table’s height should be

Comfortable chair – You will be sitting in this chair a lot so buy something nice for yourself. Make sure that it has rollers on the legs to allow you to adjust your position effortlessly and mindlessly.

Client chair – A dentist’s chair or a beautician’s chair work well. Make sure that it is comfortable because your clients will squirm if it they aren’t.

Massage table – This will be used to stretch out clients if you are doing leg pieces or back pieces.
Footstool – To rest the client’s feet on if you are tattooing their feet, ankle or lower leg.
Adjustable lamp – Ideally you want both an adjustable lamp with a light bulb that isn’t too hot and florescent lighting.

Medical and Everything else:

Stainless steel trays – You will need trays that can fit into your autoclave and be fully sterilized properly. You will want a couple of regular trays, and a few trays that can be sealed with a lid. One tray will hold your Needles; another will be for holding your needle bars (attached with fresh needles). It is customary and wise to separate your needles into arranged groupings on the trays and not thrown together. One tray should have #1 liners facing one way, and #3 Liner’s facing the opposite direction on the tray. On a separate tray, should be your Shaders, which are also arranged in a similar manner.

Stainless steel or glass jars – you will want a few of these to hold your Inkcap’s (miniature caps which hold a small amount of ink for tattooing), q-tips, swabs and other items.

Disposable razors – For removing hair in the area that the tattoo will be done.

Anti-biotic ointment packets – Single use packets for healing

3-6 New Spray bottles – One will hold the non-sterilizing ‘green soap’ (3 parts water and one part soap), another bottle for Isopropyl alcohol, and yet another for purified or distilled water. Buy new ones and do not even think about using re-used ones.

Carbolated Vaseline – Is used for apply stencils and in the tattooing process. Buy single use packets in bulk because you will be using a lot it if at all possible. Many tattoo artists’ use a single family sized jar but this can and often does result in cross-contamination, which can be deadly in the worst case.

Green soap – Green soap is actually a specific type of liquid soap that can be bought. But regular soap can be used for preparing the skin and cleaning. (2 1/2 parts water, 1/2 part Isopropyl alcohol and one part soap, Dial or Palmolive) Does not sterilize, just cleans and breaks down the oils upon the skin and in the pores.

Gloves – Surgical latex gloves that are snug like a bug in a rug on your hand. Do not buy cheap one size fits all quality gloves, but rather proper sized gloves that feel like another layer of skin.

Isopropyl alcohol/Rubbing alcohol – Disinfectant used for preparing and cleanup but not for sterilizing.

Disposable, single-use razors – These are to remove the hair from the area to be tattooed. They are a must have, so buy large quantities of them.

Tongue depressors – Used for spreading Vaseline and other ointments.

Benzall – A non-corrosive, germicidal solution used to keep sterile equipment t clean.

Hospital/surgical tape – To tape bandages and the barrier bags on the machines, the clip-cord and spray bottles.
Bandages – Buy hospital grade bandages that can be sterilized. Non-stick gauze is also fine.

Scissors – Buy quality surgical stainless steel ones.

Haemostat’s – Buy surgical stainless steel quality ones.

Paper towels – Self-explanatory.

Plastic baggies – These are for placing over your machines, the clip-cord and spray bottles as barriers in order to prevent the contamination of them by splattered residue, which may very well be infected.

Autoclave – A heat/steam/pressure unit found generally in hospitals, its purpose is to kill every living micro organism in its bay. All reusable materials, such as the needle bar and the tube are sterilized in the autoclave. Indicator strips on the packages change colour when processing has occurred. $2000.00 DO NOT USE ANY OTHER METHOD OF STERILIZING!
Autoclave fluid – This stuff can get expensive, but it is essential.

Sterilizer pouches/bags – These are pouches, which hold the items that are to be sterilized in the autoclave. Once items are sterilized, the items stay sealed and sterile within these bags until they are needed.

Sterilizer tape/indicator strips – This is special tape that changes colour at a certain temperature. It is placed upon the pouch before the pouch enters the autoclave.

Ultrasonic cleaner – The immense amount of sonic vibrations as well as the cleaning solution clean residue and tissue of from tubes, needles etc.

Ultrasonic solution – This is a special solution, which used with the ultrasonic cleaner.

Ultrasonic tray – A tray that holds the tubes, needles and other items specially made to submerge in the ultrasonic. $Usually comes with the ultrasonic at purchase.

Hazardous waste containers – One puncture proof container for needles and other sharps, one for bandages and other bio-hazardous waste, and one for regular waste such as pop cans etc.

Various cleaning chemicals & Ointments – Wavicide or Maldicide. Bepanthene, Bacitracin, Vaseline, Isopropyl alcohol, Baking soda, Plain green liquid dishwashing soap or the Green soap.

Ink – Buy only new, excellent quality inks and make sure that the Ink supplier and the particular ink has a long history of safety. This does not include UV, Florescent or any other special inks, do not use them until the industry has determined that they are indeed safe for intra dermal insertion. If you buy cheap ink, your tattoo will look cheap and more definitively, is cheap.

Inkcaps – The Inkcap is what holds the ink used to be tattooed, buy #3’s, #6’s and #9’s.

Inkcap holder – Usually holds eight ink caps.

Box of deodorant sticks – Old regular speed stick deodorant should be only used and NOT with anti-perspirant. Antiperspirant is currently being investigated for cancer causing properties!!!

Hectograph pencils or Surgical Markers – These are hypoallergenic markers.

Saran wrap/clear plastic cling on wrapping – This is for spreading over various items such as the power unit and anything else in order to protect them from any contamination from the tattooing process, more specifically the blood of the client.

Thermal fax image copier – You will need to also buy the thermal Image Paper for making transfers/stencils.

Flash – Buy as much as you can afford, but flash is expensive. Do not buy copies of originals, or CD’s purporting to have 1000,001 images of flash on them. The artists work damn hard to get where they are and to create them.

Glass or Plastic Jar – To hold various items such as the inkcaps, single use packets etc..

BUYER BEWARE

The golden rule of “you get what you pay for” applies to tattoo equipment. BUYERS BEWARE, so do your homework. After you have read a fair number of tattoo magazines and tattoo related websites, you should have a good idea as to who is reputable, and which items are reliable. Buy new, quality, professional equipment made by experts only and not used equipment.
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The all in w-one-der kits

A new phenomena too emerge in the last few years is the appearance of all in one tattooing kits which are available through various Internet website’s and magazines. The advertisements for these kits are all too often misleading when they say that they contain all of the items needed to start tattooing safely and properly. These kits usually have one or two good quality items, which make up the most of the cost of the kit, while the rest of the items are often cheap, below standard quality to the point where it is safer not to use them. I have not inspected every set available so I cannot make a generalization about each ones quality, but I will say that I do not recommend them at all. Buyers beware!

Home Made Tattoo Equipment

Some people have the notion that it is acceptable to make your own tattoo equipment from books, manuals or specs, and then subsequently use it to tattoo people. Let it be written here and now that unless someone is locked away in a penitentiary or in some other serious situation which prevents them from being able to acquire the equipment needed. There is no reason or excuse in the world to not save up money and buy the proper equipment, Tattoo supplies easily obtainable.

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