Most Important Pieces Of Tattoo Equipment

While the most important key to a good tattoo is obviously the skill of the artist, they can only go so far with bad equipment.  For this reason, it is extremely important to know and understand what the most important pieces of tattoo equipment are, and how to prioritize reinvesting in better equipment to help grow your business. 

While the first part is pretty obvious and most artists know what tools are most critical, very few upgrade what they use as often as they can to increase quality and increase revenue.  Again, by increasing the quality of that which you work with, you will increase the quality of your work; so it is definitely money well spent.

The first and most important is of course the ink that you use.  This is what determines the color, fade, and amount of bleeding together. This is why the quality of the ink is so vitally important. While some things such as written words might not always require the absolute highest quality, detailed pieces such as sleeves and back pieces can look 10 times better with just a simple upgrade of the type of ink that you're using. 

Because of this, it is extremely recommended that you focus on improving your ink first before upgrading any other piece of equipment.  A bonus is that you can use it for marketing each time you buy a better quality ink.

Once you have some higher quality pigments to work with, the next piece of tattoo equipment that you should upgrade is your gun.  The shape and structure of your gun can literally determine the health of your hand later in life, so it is worth it to spend more and have a more comfortable grip.  Also, it you want one that is going to be easy to load and that holds cartridges and needles properly and easily. 

Don't think that this has to be a one and done upgrades either; get a newer, more ergonomic one each time you feel your hand starting to consistently hurt.  At an absolute minimum, try to find a more comfortable model once every 2 years.  This will not only help your hand, but because you are more comfortable you will be able to take your time with the longer pieces.  Obviously, this will result in a much higher quality tattoo when it is done.

So what is the last piece of tattoo equipment that you should invest in?  It's something that many people overlook, and it is also probably the most expensive item in your shop: the chair.  Think about it.  If your work is just as good as 2 other competitors, but your chairs are twice as comfortable, who's going to get more business?  Let's be honest; tattoos do hurt. 

The more comfortable the client is, the more likely they are to have a good experience and recommend you to someone else.  That's free marketing!  Once you're comfortable with the quality of all of your tattoo equipment, you can really start advertising to bring in more people.