The Manila Envelope

Similar to the dime gap technique, the manila envelope is another
measurement that has some debate surrounding it. Some artists
will tell you that when you put the a-bar in the stressed position
you should be able to slide a piece of paper the thickness
of a manila envelope between the armature bar’s bottom, and
the top of the rear coil. This is to measure the difference in the
length of the front and rear coil. The front coil’s core, according
to some, is supposed to be slightly closer to the armature bar
than the rear coil’s core. This is just one use for the manila envelope,
and there are numerous variations that have been lost
in translation over time. Many artists that are very technical will
measure these gaps with feeler gages and record the distances.
This will help achieve repetitive results when you are changing
spring configurations and attempting to get your machine back
to its original running condition. However you decide to measure
these little gaps all over the tattoo machine, it is important that
you are aware of them and their functionality.