A tattoo artist’s best friend is their tattoo gun. It is what enables them to inject ink into the skin of their clients safely. The needles pierce the skin so that the ink can enter and settle in the dermis of the skin. There are many types of needles that a tattoo artist will use for one tattoo alone! It depends if they are color-filling, making lines, or creating shades in tattoos.
But how many needles in a tattoo gun? As each type of needle has its specific purpose, the number of needles required for the job will also differ. As a tattoo artist, I will probably go through at least 3 to 5 different needles on a small tattoo alone. The number of needles enables me to work on different aspects of the tattoo. The number could range from just a single needle to over needles in one tattoo gun!
Key Takeaways
- To determine the number of needles in a tattoo gun, the first thing is to consider the needle type as they will have different needle numbers for different uses.
- After the needle type, the diameter and the taper will determine the number of needles because of stability and use case.
- Tattoo needle codes are easy to determine if you know how the code is divided into sections that depict the type, number, diameter, and needle taper.
Types of Needle
The most important thing about the number of needles in a tattoo gun is the needle types. How they are arranged will make working on the different parts of the tattoo easier. Here are some of my most commonly used tattoo needles and I will share what I use them for.
Round Liner (RL)
As the name suggests, a round liner is where the needles are soldered in a round shape where usually there are needles present in the middle as well. It can contain up to 20 needles in a round liner!
What I Use It For?
For me, the round liner is what I use to work on those intricate line designs. It gives me a clear lining on tattoos which I will be mainly using tattoos with geometric shapes. I might also use it to create dots. The thickness is determined by the diameter of the needle.
Round Shader (RS)
Shaped just like the round liner, but the round shaders are spaced a bit further apart. There can be about 30 needles in a round shader.
What I Use It For?
For a round shader, I find it works best for a smaller area that needs to be colored. I frequently use it on small to medium tattoos which have small areas that need color and the extra space allows me to still have control over how much I should be coloring.
Magnum and Double Stack Magnum Shader (M1 and M2)
The Magnum is one of the most commonly used needle types in the tattoo industry. Both types are grouped in 2 rows, where the bottom has an even number of needles and the top has an odd number of needles. These can have up to 50 needles!
What I Use It For?
Magnum needles are what I will be using for bigger tattoo pieces. The number of needles helps to add more colors to the area. The M1 is a bit more spaced out, whereas the Double Stack (or M2) will have more needles closer together to give more color. It gives a smooth finish to the tattoo, which is what I like when shading the colors of the tattoo evenly across the piece.
Curved Magnum (CM)
It is much like a classic Magnum needle, but instead the needle will be curved at the ends. This is done by either laying the rows in a curved shape or having the needles be uneven lengths to create a slight bend over the top. These can contain the same as M1, ranging from anywhere between 5 to 45!
What I Use It For?
Curved Magnum helps to get to the places have are not totally flat. Think of the natural curve of your forearm. Those are the areas I will be using the curved magnum. The spacing is similar to that of M1 so again the smooth finish is what I am looking for when using the curved Magnum needles.
Flat Shader (FS)
Think Magnum but only one row in a flat line, that is what the flat shaders are. It can contain about 15 needles in a line at most to help create the lines.
What I Use It For?
The name says it all, flat shaders for flat surfaces. Where the round liner will give a bit more thickness to the lines, a flat shader will give a crisp and thin line. It can also shade, creating a great color contrast as a result of having one flat line. That is when I will use the flat shader.
Textured Round Shader (T)
A little less common than others, but the textured round shader are just like round shaders in shape with small grooves to hold more ink. It has the same number of needles as the round shader, going up to 30 needles.
What I Use It For?
While many people would just use Magnum to pack as much color as possible, I like the extra ink that textured round shaders have to pack as much ink as possible. It could also be used for color filling and will take less piercing of the skin to pack the ink. It works best for smaller tattoos while I would still be using Magnum for larger tattoos as the smaller T needle would take too long to cover everything.
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Needle Diameter and Taper
Along with the needle grouping, how many needles can fit in a tattoo gun will depend on the diameter of the needles and the taper. The diameter will determine the thickness of the needles and the taper will determine the length of the needle tip and the precision of ink injection into the skin.
The diameter of the needles is important. The thicker the needles, the thicker the lines will be. For example, the round liner goes from #6 gauge (0.2mm) up to #16 gauge (0.45mm). The higher the gauge, the thicker the lines that it will produce. So for larger tattoos, I would use a high gauge so even pack over a bigger area and reduce the amount of piercing the skin needs. The larger the diameter, the fewer needles can be packed in the tattoo gun. But it is all dependent on what you need it for.
Most common are short (ST) to medium tapers (MT), which range from 2mm to 3.5mm. These allow a steady flow of ink injection to the skin which is preferred for Magnum needles. Shorter needles mean that more needles can be packed without compromising the stability of the needle. Long tapers (LT) and extra-long tapers (XTL) are mostly seen in flat shaders. This will allow me to have control over the amount of ink that I want to place, especially in thinner lines. Longer tapers can shake more than shorter tapers so it is best to have longer tapers with less amount of needles.
Understanding Tattoo Needle Configuration
Now that you have understood the needle grouping, diameter measurements, and taper lengths, it is time to learn the needle configuration, especially the codes that we tattoo artist use. Let’s take 1430M2MT, an example of a tattoo needle code. The first 2 numbers, 14, will be the diameter of the needle, which is #14 gauge in the American system (or 0.40mm in the European system). The next two numbers, 30 in this case, are the number of needles in the tattoo gun. The next two letters, M2, will be the needle type which here is a double-stacked Magnum shader. And the last two letters, MT, refers to the taper size of the needle which in this case is the medium taper.
I have included all the necessary codes alongside their corresponding in the article itself so have another look at them to help you determine what type of needle you would like to buy.
FAQs
Which needle types have the most needles?
Usually, Magnum needle types have the most needles, where the M2 or the double-stacked Magnum shader has the most at up to 50 needles!
What are the types of tattoo guns?
There are 3 main types of tattoo guns. The rotary, coil, and pneumatic tattoo guns.
Do more needles hurt more?
More needles will hurt as it will be more of your skin is getting pierced. The longer the needle is working on one area, the more it will hurt.
Final Thoughts
It is important to understand the no matter the number of needles in a tattoo gun, there is a purpose for it all. More needles mean more ink injection which is perfect for large tattoo pieces. Smaller tattoos will be easier to work with fewer needles to give more precision and control of the line and ink injection. The number of needles, type, diameter, and taper is all things you will have to consider when thinking of how many needles can be inside one tattoo gun.
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