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Tattoo Gun

The tattoo gun had an extremely unlikely inventor, Thomas Edison. To be fair to him, Edison did not invent the tattoo gun as a means of marking human skin. He invented it as a machine for engraving metal plates. However another inventor, Samuel O’Reilly, discovered that you could modify Edison’s machine to incorporate a hollow needle and an ink reservoir.

The machines operate by using two electrical coils, run in opposite directions, to propel a needle up and down. The force, depth, and speed of the needle can all be adjusted in modern guns. Tattoo artists usually prefer the name machine to gun, but you can shop for them using either term.

One relatively recent use of tattoo guns is a form of tattooing called permanent cosmetics. In this form, a facial tattoo is applied to sensitive areas such as eye lids, lips, or cheeks. The tattoo simulates the effect achieved by applying makeup, such as eye liner, lipstick, or blush, to the area. While this may seem like a drastic step, it can save significant amounts of time and money over the long term.

 

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