When I started tattooing back in 1994 I used steel barrels. Disposable barrels still were not widely used in the industry. I also started out using a brass frame machine. The weight that the two were combined was nice and heavy. With how heavy the whole set was enabled me to throw down lines like butter. The steel barrels also aided the machine in how it sounded and how I was able to tune it. In 2005 I decided it was time to go with the industry standard of disposable barrels. Up until like three weeks ago I was totally behind the idea of using just disposable equipment at the shop.
With disposables I've found only a few advantages over the steel counterparts. They were one time use and the artist threw them out. The public liked this idea because for years the industry used it as a marketing tool to get customers in the door. The tattoo industry tends to market the fear of catching some disease to the public in order to get them into the shop. Well as many of our students learned last night during our sterilization class a tattoo shop can be more clean then a hospital.
Our class was on the process of how we get our equipment sterile. The State of Illinois mandates that all shops who use steel instruments have an ultrasonic cleaner and spore tested autoclave. At Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo we actually go through more of a process then required. We use three processes to kill and sterilize all of our equipment. Chemical, Autoclave Steam, and UV sterilization up to the minute a customer comes in for a procedure. Many have called it overkill because we have an up to date spore test, but at our shop the safety of the clients and staff is priority number one. With our processes we are able to achieve 100% sterilization.
So with the shop doing more then whats required by State Law the artist are able to enjoy using equipment that is better then disposables. Disposables usually disrupt the machines tuning and the needles ability to ride on a smooth surface. If you ever pulled a disposable barrel out of a package you notice the artist has to cut some of the ends of the barrels off. So instead of giving out bad work thats the main reason I decided to go back to steel. Every artist has their way of doing things, Aberration will be a MOMS and Steel only shop because the quality of the tools affect the outcome of our procedures.
Twilight Dreamz Tattoo and Rockstars Full Service Hair Salon at 404 Gardner South Beloit Illinois. 815-389 -1900
I don't think you could tell enough customers about the whole sterilization process, and how seriously it is all taken. Working to a standard BETTER than hospital-grade is comforting...to me as an apprentice, and to customers. If you educate your client they are going to remember the level of care taken, and won't even think twice about where they're going next time.
ReplyDeleteAt some point, that client is going to tell someone else, and this is something else a client could have high praise for.
I can see that customer a few days later showing off his tattoo...something like....."WOW...got a great custom-drawn tattoo, learned how seriously they take cleanliness and sterility, paid a fair price, and those talented, personable, and good-looking apprentices at Aberration were the icing on the cake!" :)
I'm anxious to try both stainless and disposable barrels. Ultimately, I want to give the best tattoo I possibly can, and if the added weight of a metal barrel helps, then I'm all for it!
I think the dispoable tubes are easier, but that doesn't mean they are better. And if the steel barrels make better tattoos then it is worth the extra effort to sterilize them. It is very cool that Abberation goes above and beyond the required sterilization to even one up the medical field.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do like the idea of steels because then you know your whole machine. With disposables, you never know that you'll have to fix on it to make the tattoo look great and the machine sound perfect. But with steels, its the same one so you get to know it and you don't have to worry about cutting or adjusting. And I love the idea and I find comfort in knowing our shop is cleaner than a hospital. We wouldn't do this if we didn't truely care about our customers.
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