Online discount tattoo supply sites (A.K.A. Scab Vendor Headquarters) offer one kind of tattoo kit. There might be hundreds of variations to choose from, but they're essentially the same thing. Machines, power supplies, inks, needles and a bunch of extras like machine lights, practice skins, ink holders, etc. Usually in excessive quantities. But this isn't what you need. If you find an "8-Gun" kit online with 40 inks and 100 needles, and the price is around $200, skip it. The ink is fake and according to one study could be contaminated. The needles are garbage and WILL hamburger your skin and everyone else's. The machines are rubbish. They're cheap, they're foreign, they're marked-up, they're unreliable and made of inferior parts and materials. Check out TATTOOTRAINING's video on YouTube for in-depth coverage on these pieces of shit.
The first thing to look at is the wording. No legitimate supply house sells "tattoo guns". "Tattoo Guns" exist in the kitchens of single-wide mobile-homes, gutterpunk squat houses, cells in state penitentiaries and in junkie shooting galleries. Legit suppliers will always call their tattoo machines just that, tattoo machines. But this DOES NOT IN ANY WAY GUARANTEE THAT THE SELLER IS LEGITIMATE. This is a point of major contention in the field of tattoo making as well as machine building. If you are an inexperienced, unlicensed scratcher you can start your road to a legitimate career by stopping what you're doing right now, getting an apprenticeship, being in total compliance with all the legislature in your state and by never, ever calling a tattoo machine a gun again. Ever. Period.
Secondly, the number or machines included in a kit DOES NOT speak for its quality. Tattoo kits with machines in excess of two should generally be passed over. The machines included in wholesale kits are without exception cheap, having only cost a dollar or two to manufacture. Because they are so cheap wholesalers can afford to add three, four, six, eight of them to a tattoo kit without impacting their profit margin. This is why you find tattoo kits with 8 machines for $200. The reason WHY you get so many machines is not because it's a good deal and the seller wants you to succeed. It's because they KNOW the machines will not last and they do not want you to complain to them when they stop functioning in a week or two, so they give you several additional machines to keep you going. This is how cheap gear will last longer. Not through quality, but through quantity. Aside from the machines being cheap garbage and the hallmark of amateurs everywhere, what's the big deal about a cheap tattoo machine? Well, you never get a chance to get used to it. Even if you manage to tune it correctly, which you probably won't since you bought 8, it will not last. Wires will heat and break in the coils, the wiring will ground or your cheap power supply will shit the bed and you'll be done. If your power supply doesn't give out, the machine will and you'll be on to the next one, never getting a chance to learn your machine. There are a lot of things which are consumables. Ink caps, bibs, tongue depressors, needles, etc. Machines shouldn't be one of the consumables in your budget. The BIGGEST deal about these cheap kit machines however, is this: the people that manufacture the crazy-colored, decorative novelty skeleton-raping-jesus-gun-penis-dead-baby-head styled machines also manufacture counterfeit machines, ripoffs of Danny Fowler's hard work, TTS ripoffs, etc. Every major brand has been duplicated and when you buy this cheap shit you're supporting people that undermine the trade and the key players. Don't do it.
The inks is another thing. I've talked about this before. You can guarantee with 99.99% certainty that all inks in big kits are fake. How can you tell? Well, you can start by reading my article "How To Spot Fake Kuro Sumi". Another thing to look at is the overall price of the kit. If you are getting 8 machines and 20 inks for $200, the machines are shit and the ink is fake. Here's why. Good inks, Alla Prima, Ichiban, Talen's, Waverly, etc. are at the VERY LEAST $7.50 PER OUNCE. Some quality inks are that much per 1/2 ounce, but that is the lowest price I have found legit ink at. $7.50 multiplied by 20 is $150.00. That would turn your $200 kit into a $350 kit right out of the gates. So watch out. No quality ink manufacturer is going to let their product go for less than what it's worth. And no wholesaler is going to pay a minimum price for something and then undersell themselves to save you money. It's not going to happen. Ever. So, are you still searching for a kit to buy?
That's unfortunate.
As much as you want to, as much as I wanted to when I started, you're just not going to get a good deal by shopping at cheap supply houses. You're going to be disappointed at the very least and on a more serious note in danger of using contaminated products. On the upside you'll have a whole bunch of cool keychains.
If it's quality gear you seek and you're licensed, please don't fuck off...please visit one of the links to the right.
If it's quality gear you seek and you're licensed, please don't fuck off...please visit one of the links to the right.
