In an attempt to further educate buyers on spotting fake inks I've included the following video found on the Intenze Products' website.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Discount Tattoo Supplies Online: Buyer Beware.
Anyone searching for tattoo supplies has at some point come across discounted kits that are priced so low you can't not buy them.
The problem with this is that they are inexpensive for a reason. Cheap machines, low quality components, sub-standard needles and fake inks all drive down the costs of production allowing wholesalers and discounters to make a profit even with prices 70% lower than quality products.
Essentially a tattoo machine is always going to be a tattoo machine. Anything with at least one coil or rotor, an armature bar and vice will perform as it should. With cheap machines performance is really left open to interpretation and many details that make a difference in quality are overlooked. It's common for discount companies to offer machines made with cheap frames and cheap coils. Again, these parts are cheap for a reason. Mass produced parts and non precision construction are two things all cheap machines have in common. A good machine will have straight, tightly wrapped coils and proper frame angles and measurements. On one machine I purchased to check out the coil posts were so crooked that the armature bar only made about 40% contact with the front coil. This is a loss of machine efficiency by at least 60% assuming there are no other problems. If you buy ten machines for $20 a piece, even if you're lucky enough to find a perfect one it still won't perform as well as a properly made $200 machine.
But the machines are the least problematic aspect of a discount kit.
Another area discounters cut corners is in their needles. Pricing for needles is already low. Aside from gloves, caps, bands and machine and cord covers your needles are the least expensive pieces per unit for a tattoo procedure. How discounters acquire cheap needles is simple. They contact manufacturers and offer to buy their seconds needles. Seconds are needles that did not meet quality standards for any number of reasons. This could be that the groupings are slightly crooked on the bar, that the points are blunted or even that the needle didn't pass sterilization in blister packing. The companies agree to sell these seconds needles to discounters leaving it up to them to use their discretion about which needles to sell. Usually, they sell all of them. In one box of such needles I noted that out of 100 needles 36 (seriously) of them had needle groupings with blunted points and five were visibly misaligned on the bar. That is a 59% usability rate if there are not other problems. The needles are then put into a kit and (usually) shipped from China, a journey that will subject them to hot, cold, jostling and possible further damage.
The ink used in discount kits is almost always a counterfeit name brand or a very poor quality house brand. These inks aren't sterile and a study done by ERMA in New Zealand revealed that discount inks from China were contaminated with lead. That article is included below.
Tattoo Ink Potentially Contaminated - NZ Herald
To make you think you're getting a great deal they'll throw in a whole bunch of other stuff like practice skins, machine holders, cap holders, clip on lights and so on. You can guarantee those are inferior products as well.
In short, discounters don't care about you or who you're tattooing they of care about money and they'll give you low quality supplies to increase their profit margin.
It is far better to spend extra money on quality goods than to cut corners. If price is an issue keep in mind that you do not need ten machines and all the other stuff included in those discount "pro" kits. You need two machines, a power supply, a good switch and clip cord and the other obvious stuff like ink and caps and needles. Every legit tattoo supply house in America offers a kit with everything you need at a reasonable price. I've taken the guess work out of finding legit supply spots and produced a list of well known sellers to check out. Just look to the right of this page.
If you're after cheap supplies, keep in mind that everything cheap is cheap for a reason.
The problem with this is that they are inexpensive for a reason. Cheap machines, low quality components, sub-standard needles and fake inks all drive down the costs of production allowing wholesalers and discounters to make a profit even with prices 70% lower than quality products.
Essentially a tattoo machine is always going to be a tattoo machine. Anything with at least one coil or rotor, an armature bar and vice will perform as it should. With cheap machines performance is really left open to interpretation and many details that make a difference in quality are overlooked. It's common for discount companies to offer machines made with cheap frames and cheap coils. Again, these parts are cheap for a reason. Mass produced parts and non precision construction are two things all cheap machines have in common. A good machine will have straight, tightly wrapped coils and proper frame angles and measurements. On one machine I purchased to check out the coil posts were so crooked that the armature bar only made about 40% contact with the front coil. This is a loss of machine efficiency by at least 60% assuming there are no other problems. If you buy ten machines for $20 a piece, even if you're lucky enough to find a perfect one it still won't perform as well as a properly made $200 machine.
But the machines are the least problematic aspect of a discount kit.
Another area discounters cut corners is in their needles. Pricing for needles is already low. Aside from gloves, caps, bands and machine and cord covers your needles are the least expensive pieces per unit for a tattoo procedure. How discounters acquire cheap needles is simple. They contact manufacturers and offer to buy their seconds needles. Seconds are needles that did not meet quality standards for any number of reasons. This could be that the groupings are slightly crooked on the bar, that the points are blunted or even that the needle didn't pass sterilization in blister packing. The companies agree to sell these seconds needles to discounters leaving it up to them to use their discretion about which needles to sell. Usually, they sell all of them. In one box of such needles I noted that out of 100 needles 36 (seriously) of them had needle groupings with blunted points and five were visibly misaligned on the bar. That is a 59% usability rate if there are not other problems. The needles are then put into a kit and (usually) shipped from China, a journey that will subject them to hot, cold, jostling and possible further damage.
The ink used in discount kits is almost always a counterfeit name brand or a very poor quality house brand. These inks aren't sterile and a study done by ERMA in New Zealand revealed that discount inks from China were contaminated with lead. That article is included below.
Tattoo Ink Potentially Contaminated - NZ Herald
To make you think you're getting a great deal they'll throw in a whole bunch of other stuff like practice skins, machine holders, cap holders, clip on lights and so on. You can guarantee those are inferior products as well.
In short, discounters don't care about you or who you're tattooing they of care about money and they'll give you low quality supplies to increase their profit margin.
It is far better to spend extra money on quality goods than to cut corners. If price is an issue keep in mind that you do not need ten machines and all the other stuff included in those discount "pro" kits. You need two machines, a power supply, a good switch and clip cord and the other obvious stuff like ink and caps and needles. Every legit tattoo supply house in America offers a kit with everything you need at a reasonable price. I've taken the guess work out of finding legit supply spots and produced a list of well known sellers to check out. Just look to the right of this page.
If you're after cheap supplies, keep in mind that everything cheap is cheap for a reason.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Ink Spots #1: How To Spot Fake Kuro Sumi
"Fake is as old as the Eden Tree."
-Orson Welles
Not too long ago Dave Muller published an article to help buyers spot fake Kuro Sumi Color ink bottles. As a supplement to his article, which you can read here, I "invested" in a set of fake Kuro Sumi Color from a known counterfeits distributor to compare the authentic with the fakes. What I've come up with is an additional article with some more in-depth measures to spot fakes and avoid purchasing from counterfeiters. I highly recommend you read Dave's article before you read this.
#1 - Avoid Discounters
The absolute best way to avoid purchasing counterfeit Kuro Sumi inks is to avoid purchasing from discounters or wholesalers such as TMart.Com, TradeMe, DHGate.Com and TheLAShop.com. These sellers commonly buy counterfeits from China or the Philipines and sell them at discounted prices to entice unknowing buyers to purchase these items thinking they are getting a good deal.
These kinds of discounters and wholesalers commonly sell other counterfeit goods as well, from electronics to name brand clothing and sports and outdoors gear. Use common sense. You wouldn't buy tattoo ink from a hotdog vendor, why would you buy it from a sporting goods and electronics wholesaler?
If you find Kuro Sumi on the net for much less than you find it from legitimate tattoo supply houses like Technical International Tattoo Supply (who is the official distribution center and trademark owner of Kuro Sumi), it is highly likely that your colors are not authentic.
I've included a list of known counterfeit distributors. All of the sites listed below are perfect examples of the 7-Color shrinkwrap style color set, which you will read about shortly:
#2 - Neck
If a picture of the bottle is included, look at the neck. Neck spacing between the shoulder of the bottle and the cap on 1/2 oz. bottles of Kuro Sumi Color is about 2mm, enough to see the curve between the shoulder of the bottle and the bottom of the cap. If the bottom of the cap extends all the way down to the shoulder of the bottle, it is likely a counterfeit.
Blacks and graywashes do come in 12oz bottles. All 12oz bottles will have a raised Kuro Sumi emblem on the neck. If your bottle of black or wash is missing this, it is definitely a fake.
#3 - Size
Kuro Sumi Colors are not available in 16oz, 12oz or 8oz sizes as they are often advertised by counterfeiters. Kuro Sumi Colors are only available in 1/2oz, 1oz, 2oz and 4oz bottles, but in no way does that mean all 4oz, 2oz, 1oz and 1/2oz bottles are authentic. Counterfeiters go to great lengths to deceive buyers and have done remarkably well in their attempts to duplicate Kuro Sumi's products and packaging. Always check all the points mentioned in this article.
#4 - Packaging
If your ink arrives in heat-shrinked plastic packages of 7, it's not authentic. All Kuro Sumi Colors will come in Kuro Sumi white box packaging bearing the Dragon Logo cutout and Kuro Sumi stamp. Pigments will arrive in a plastic tray in the box, not in rows in heat-shrink plastic.
#5 - Number Of Inks In Package
-Orson Welles
Not too long ago Dave Muller published an article to help buyers spot fake Kuro Sumi Color ink bottles. As a supplement to his article, which you can read here, I "invested" in a set of fake Kuro Sumi Color from a known counterfeits distributor to compare the authentic with the fakes. What I've come up with is an additional article with some more in-depth measures to spot fakes and avoid purchasing from counterfeiters. I highly recommend you read Dave's article before you read this.
#1 - Avoid Discounters
The absolute best way to avoid purchasing counterfeit Kuro Sumi inks is to avoid purchasing from discounters or wholesalers such as TMart.Com, TradeMe, DHGate.Com and TheLAShop.com. These sellers commonly buy counterfeits from China or the Philipines and sell them at discounted prices to entice unknowing buyers to purchase these items thinking they are getting a good deal.
These kinds of discounters and wholesalers commonly sell other counterfeit goods as well, from electronics to name brand clothing and sports and outdoors gear. Use common sense. You wouldn't buy tattoo ink from a hotdog vendor, why would you buy it from a sporting goods and electronics wholesaler?
If you find Kuro Sumi on the net for much less than you find it from legitimate tattoo supply houses like Technical International Tattoo Supply (who is the official distribution center and trademark owner of Kuro Sumi), it is highly likely that your colors are not authentic.
I've included a list of known counterfeit distributors. All of the sites listed below are perfect examples of the 7-Color shrinkwrap style color set, which you will read about shortly:
#2 - Neck
If a picture of the bottle is included, look at the neck. Neck spacing between the shoulder of the bottle and the cap on 1/2 oz. bottles of Kuro Sumi Color is about 2mm, enough to see the curve between the shoulder of the bottle and the bottom of the cap. If the bottom of the cap extends all the way down to the shoulder of the bottle, it is likely a counterfeit.
Blacks and graywashes do come in 12oz bottles. All 12oz bottles will have a raised Kuro Sumi emblem on the neck. If your bottle of black or wash is missing this, it is definitely a fake.
#3 - Size
Kuro Sumi Colors are not available in 16oz, 12oz or 8oz sizes as they are often advertised by counterfeiters. Kuro Sumi Colors are only available in 1/2oz, 1oz, 2oz and 4oz bottles, but in no way does that mean all 4oz, 2oz, 1oz and 1/2oz bottles are authentic. Counterfeiters go to great lengths to deceive buyers and have done remarkably well in their attempts to duplicate Kuro Sumi's products and packaging. Always check all the points mentioned in this article.
#4 - Packaging
If your ink arrives in heat-shrinked plastic packages of 7, it's not authentic. All Kuro Sumi Colors will come in Kuro Sumi white box packaging bearing the Dragon Logo cutout and Kuro Sumi stamp. Pigments will arrive in a plastic tray in the box, not in rows in heat-shrink plastic.
IMAGES BACK SOON!
If you are looking on discount tattoo supply websites and think you've found a good deal on an authentic Kuro Sumi Color set, check to see how many bottles are included in the set. Commonly, counterfeit Kuro Sumi will come in packages of 6, 7, 14, 16, 22, 28 and 35. Be particularly aware of the 28 and 35-Bottle "Complete Color" set. Kuro Sumi Color's complete line has 59 colors, not 28 or 35.
#6 - Pigment Names
Check the back of the bottle for the names. Kuro Sumi Colors have unique proprietary names such as "Tsunami Blue" and "White Rice Mixing". The Kuro Sumi Color chart with all ink pigment names is available here.
Fake Kuro Sumi bottles will have names like "Lime Green" and "Snot Green", some of them even misspelled. I've included a full list of fake Kuro Sumi Color names below. Note that all misspellings are directly copied from the bottle and not a mistake on my part.
#7 - Lot #
If your inks are all from LOT#KCTB10822 they are not authentic. This is because when the original label was copied attention was not paid to this detail. The dates of manufacture will be different by a year or more in some cases but the lot number will always be LOT#KCTB1022
#8 - C.I.#
A C.I.# is a pigment constitution designation number. It essentially tells you what the primary pigment makeup of an ink is. Check the back of your Kuro Sumi Color bottle for a C.I.# If the number is C.I.#74160 it's possible that your ink is counterfeit. C.L.#74160 is the data for shade green Phthalocyanine Blue. Ink colors such as yellow, red, pink and especially white have no Phthalocyanine Blue pigment in the ink. Check a bottle of each color class of your Kuro Sumi Color to make sure the C.I.#'s are not all the same, as they will not all contain C.I.#74160. This is another mistake that was made when the original label was copied for duplication. The counterfeiter did not take into consideration that the C.I.# is a pigment indicator and that it will be different depending on what kinds of pigments are in the ink. This is a dead giveaway.
#9 - Drying
Original Kuro Sumi dries like a very shiny thin film gel. Fake Kuro Sumi Outline inks dries powdery. To test this, squeeze a couple drops onto a paper plate and allow it to dry overnight. When you check it the next day, scrape it with a fingernail or key tip. If it flakes off or is dusty, it is not genuine.
#10 - Separation
All inks will separate over time. A good shake before use will fix that problem. Ideally, an ink should stay mixed throughout a tattoo procedure and not separate in the ink cap during tattooing. A good way to find out if you've got a fake ink is to shake the ink bottle and let it settle. See how long it takes to separate. If it's at or over an hour, that should be ok. If it's under 15 minutes chances are it has a high alcohol content and is a counterfeit ink.
There are two main reasons not to support counterfeiters or buy fake ink. The first is a health and safety issue. A lot of counterfeiters are based in China and the Philipines. That's not to say that these countries are not able to produce quality products, but it is to say that they do not have the kinds of regulations and restrictions about what can and cannot go into products like we do in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Europe and other parts of the world. In October in 2010 the New Zealand Herald published an article after a report of contaminated tattoo ink was released by ERMA. The ink, purchased from TradeMe.Com, was tested and was shown to contain metals known to be hazardous to humans. That article is here.
The second is that producers of legitimate and quality inks such as Intenze, Millenium, Starbright, Kuro Sumi and many others have patented formulas which they closely guard. These are not known to be hazardous and strict guidelines are met to ensure that only the highest quality pigments are produced. These colors are the property of the originating company and they deserve to be paid. Their inks aren't just a necessity in the tattoo industry, they're a service. Counterfeiters do not deserve to make a profit off of selling inferior look-alikes and do a disservice to the entire industry and endanger unsuspecting buyers and anyone they tattoo with counterfeit ink.
For further reading on fake inks, check out this article from Hildbrandt Tattoo Supply.
#6 - Pigment Names
Check the back of the bottle for the names. Kuro Sumi Colors have unique proprietary names such as "Tsunami Blue" and "White Rice Mixing". The Kuro Sumi Color chart with all ink pigment names is available here.
IMAGES BACK SOON!
Fake Kuro Sumi bottles will have names like "Lime Green" and "Snot Green", some of them even misspelled. I've included a full list of fake Kuro Sumi Color names below. Note that all misspellings are directly copied from the bottle and not a mistake on my part.
White
Silevr
Platinum
Tribal Black
Black
Coco
Medium Brown
Light Brown
Dark Purple
Lavender
Violent Violet
Koolaid
True Magenta
Rose Pink
Bright Red
Dark Red
Tomato Is Red
Bubblegum Pink
Shallow Pink
Flesh
Carols Pink
(I'm assuming this is supposed to be Coral Pink)
(I'm assuming this is supposed to be Coral Pink)
Blue Sky
Sky Blue
Country Blue
Golden Yellow
Deep Yellow
Lemon Yellow
Lime Green
Mustaed
Snot Green
Dark Green
Light Gerrn
Grasshopper
Sea Foam Green
Forest Is Green
#7 - Lot #
If your inks are all from LOT#KCTB10822 they are not authentic. This is because when the original label was copied attention was not paid to this detail. The dates of manufacture will be different by a year or more in some cases but the lot number will always be LOT#KCTB1022
IMAGES BACK SOON!
#8 - C.I.#
A C.I.# is a pigment constitution designation number. It essentially tells you what the primary pigment makeup of an ink is. Check the back of your Kuro Sumi Color bottle for a C.I.# If the number is C.I.#74160 it's possible that your ink is counterfeit. C.L.#74160 is the data for shade green Phthalocyanine Blue. Ink colors such as yellow, red, pink and especially white have no Phthalocyanine Blue pigment in the ink. Check a bottle of each color class of your Kuro Sumi Color to make sure the C.I.#'s are not all the same, as they will not all contain C.I.#74160. This is another mistake that was made when the original label was copied for duplication. The counterfeiter did not take into consideration that the C.I.# is a pigment indicator and that it will be different depending on what kinds of pigments are in the ink. This is a dead giveaway.
#9 - Drying
Original Kuro Sumi dries like a very shiny thin film gel. Fake Kuro Sumi Outline inks dries powdery. To test this, squeeze a couple drops onto a paper plate and allow it to dry overnight. When you check it the next day, scrape it with a fingernail or key tip. If it flakes off or is dusty, it is not genuine.
#10 - Separation
All inks will separate over time. A good shake before use will fix that problem. Ideally, an ink should stay mixed throughout a tattoo procedure and not separate in the ink cap during tattooing. A good way to find out if you've got a fake ink is to shake the ink bottle and let it settle. See how long it takes to separate. If it's at or over an hour, that should be ok. If it's under 15 minutes chances are it has a high alcohol content and is a counterfeit ink.
IMAGES BACK SOON!
There are two main reasons not to support counterfeiters or buy fake ink. The first is a health and safety issue. A lot of counterfeiters are based in China and the Philipines. That's not to say that these countries are not able to produce quality products, but it is to say that they do not have the kinds of regulations and restrictions about what can and cannot go into products like we do in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Europe and other parts of the world. In October in 2010 the New Zealand Herald published an article after a report of contaminated tattoo ink was released by ERMA. The ink, purchased from TradeMe.Com, was tested and was shown to contain metals known to be hazardous to humans. That article is here.
The second is that producers of legitimate and quality inks such as Intenze, Millenium, Starbright, Kuro Sumi and many others have patented formulas which they closely guard. These are not known to be hazardous and strict guidelines are met to ensure that only the highest quality pigments are produced. These colors are the property of the originating company and they deserve to be paid. Their inks aren't just a necessity in the tattoo industry, they're a service. Counterfeiters do not deserve to make a profit off of selling inferior look-alikes and do a disservice to the entire industry and endanger unsuspecting buyers and anyone they tattoo with counterfeit ink.
For further reading on fake inks, check out this article from Hildbrandt Tattoo Supply.
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