Christian Hernandez

The power supply is a key component to any tattoo artist’s
arsenal and should never be underestimated. Each piece of
equipment that a tattoo professional utilizes can affect the tattoo
quality. It is true that an

Your typical tattoo power supply will have between 2 and 4
amps.
Amps can be measured with your multi-meter while the fluctuation
can also be seen. Higher grade power supplies will handle
the quality of

“Amp or ampere is a unit of electrical current that measures
the amount of electrical charge per second that exists.”
Amps are important in relation to the tattoo process because the
tattoo power supply will have

Tattoo machines require DC or direct current. Direct current is
the unidirectional flow of current. This is opposite the AC type of
current, which means alternating. Alternating current is typically
found in the

You should become familiar with a digital voltmeter or multimeter.
It is recommended that all tattoo artists own a multi-meter
as it will allow you to troubleshoot a lot of components of your
tattoo machine and

To compensate for a higher rated capacitor you might
have to add voltage to your machine to get the same
effect. Try changing out your rear spring in conjunction
with changing the cap, you have to remember
that

It is commonly accepted that the less voltage you need to use to
obtain a solid running machine, the better. This is because you
are stressing the electromagnets less, and your machine will not
heat up as quickly.

Some tattoo power supplies will not display the voltage as in a
digital meter. Typically you will have a ten turn pot style knob on
the tattoo power supply. This means that the knob that controls
the voltage will

Typically a tattoo machine will run from 4 volts to 12 volts. There
is no real rule of thumb for how many volts you need to make
your machine run a certain way. There is also no real rule of
thumb for how much

The tattoo process requires power. While it is possible to run a
tattoo machine without a proper power supply (as in the actual
power supply device), it is not suggested. You could very easily
hook your tattoo

Light = Faster
Heavy = Slower
Keep an eye on the coil cores as well, ensure that the
a-bar is over the coil cores to achieve maximum pull.

A good rule of thumb to control the stroke of your machine is
to look at the front spring. When you have the front spring in a
relaxed position (meaning it is touching the contact point), does
it seem to flex? To

You might hear of rotary machines every once in a while, or see
them in catalogs of equipment. There are numerous styles and
manufactures of rotary machines. Instead of using the coil and
magnet mechanics, the

In the summer of 2008 I came across the FK (Fallen King) Irons
patent pending “1.5 coil” setup. I have to start this section by
stating that I have not personally tried these machines. I was immediately
intrigued

It is important to know the geometry of your frame. The way
the holes line up in relation to each other, as well as in relation
to how they line up against the a-bar and tube-vise hole as the
basis of your

Typical tattoo machines will use
ten wrap coils. This is actually very vague because you do not
know the gauge of wire used during the wraps. You also do not
know exactly what a “wrap” is. One coil manufacturer

Some effects can be achieved simply by tightening the contact
screw, or moving its tip closer to the armature bar. Some artists
call this the air gap, contact gap, spring gap, ect. When you take
the armature bar

There are a few factors involved in the stroke length or the
“throw” of the tattoo needle. The throw is the distance that the
armature bar pin or nipple travels. It will move in a circular fashion
with the center

The working stroke of the tattoo machine is the distance
the needle moves from the top of the front coil’s core to the
center of the armature bar’s nipple. Most tattoo artists will
tell you that this distance

When tattoo artists talk about their machines bogging down, it is
not necessarily a bad thing as you might expect. Sometimes it
is good to have your machine bog down to get a desired effect
without damaging the