How do you know?

You will see it in there. The trick is to keep it in there after you are done tattooing. Tight circles. One pass, no blood and proper depth (is that how you spell it?). If you get blood it will most likey reject the ink going in. When it scar it will also push out ink. So try to get every thing in one pass, at most two passes.

I work from the bottom up, right to left. I fill wih a 3mag or a 5mag. I noticed the 5rs or any round shader configuration left me with some gaps.

@TexasPT wrote:

Thanks for the input.
I keep hearing different ideas on coloring in. Some, like you, say one or two passes. Others say run the machine slow and soft and keep hitting the area to build it gradually. I suppose it is another “what works for you” type of thing.

I think the essential point, is if the machine is hitting hard or soft… Using a soft-hitting color packer, I can work over an area a few times without getting bleeding. If I was to try the same trick with the liner, I think it would be quite a different result :shock:

I think the essential point, is if the machine is hitting hard or soft… Using a soft-hitting color packer, I can work over an area a few times without getting bleeding. If I was to try the same trick with the liner, I think it would be quite a different result :shock:[/quote]

For sure…

@messijesse wrote:

For sure…

Would probably make for a good scene in a horror movie though :D

@TexasPT wrote:

I’m still working on trusting a soft hitting machine to put in…but I’m getting there

Only thing I can say to try and help with that, is ‘slow and steady wins the race…” When I was filling the kanji on my leg with the color packer, it took several passes for the ink to fully saturate, but I just kept working it gently, and it got there in the end. Afterwards, while the skin was obviously sore, there still hadn’t been bleeding, and it has already almost healed, so I know the skin wasn’t over-worked :) The key is a soft back-spring so there’s actually more ‘needle movement’, than just the distance set between the front spring and contact screw with the nickel and dime, and just run it at about 6.5 so it’s almost bogging out :) YMMV, but I can’t complain at the results I’ve achieved with such a set up thus far…

Light spots are apparently skin reflecting the light, and angle is due to the photo (I didn’t take it)
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r44/TreadstoneArt/252478_10150628960065007_714055006_18527632_2868046_n.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r44/TreadstoneArt/DSCN4104.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r44/TreadstoneArt/DSCN4070.jpg

Same machine but with colored ink rather than just black
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r44/TreadstoneArt/DSCN4035.jpg