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johnsorrick · Tattoo lover Joined: 13 Sep 2008 Posts: 4

I have an artist friend who is an amateur but he does very good work (I have seen many of his tattoos). He recently gave me one and all was going well until he went to wipe the tattoo only to discover that almost none of the ink took to my arm. I have had a tattoo in the past and had no issue with this and I was wondering if any of you out there with experience could tell me some possible reasons why this would occur? We thought that I either didn't respond well to that particular brand of ink, or maybe he wasn't going deep enough with the needle. He went back over some of it with a larger needle and pushed harder and more ink seemed to take at that point so I don't know what's going on and he's never had this happen before either. Can anyone help? Below are some images while in the process and then some afterward. I should also add that as time has gone by (I only got it about 4 hours ago) some of the ink seems to be showing more visible, but MOST of the ink didn't take at all.

the artist · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject:

An expert will handle this for you here.
Just be patient and your answer wil come.
Im not a expert but it seems to me its the needle size,Outline needle is differant than the shading work.
I saw the pics and it a marine logo isnt it?
It could be the ink itself(brand)
A 2 mil is recomended for outline.
As for ink i dont really know which is recommended.

gregor_xenos · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 10:44 pm Post subject:

Damn Dude,
Sux to have gone thru that and nothing takes! What type of ink was it? I had similar results with the first tat i did on myself, found out it was just sub-standard ink. Got some Sumi and a new needle and BAM, its there now!

Course.... maybe it's cause a real Marine's skin is to tough to let a little thing like ink effect it. (Friendly poke there. Im Ex- Army)

johnsorrick · Tattoo lover Joined: 13 Sep 2008 Posts: 4

We think it might be the ink, I don't know what brand it was but I'll be sure to ask. Also, he said that he's got a whole new set of ink on order that's supposed to be one of the best on the market and I'll ask about that one too. All I know is he used a size 3 needle on it and nothing took and then when he went back over the S he used a size 5 and pushed in harder and that area seems to have taken so far. I'll ask him about the ink though. Thanks.

Christin · Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:40 pm Post subject:

Looking at the pics it sort of looks like the needle didn't penetrate the skin the first time over. There isn't even a blood outline.

I've only been tattooing for a year and I'm far from an expert but that's what it looks like to me.

chic · Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 1:14 pm Post subject:

omg, thats really bad to go through all that and not get nothing at the end...

hope you go to another tattooist who can make it better for you.. Laughing

Ed Sr · Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:08 am Post subject:

[quote="johnsorrick"]We think it might be the ink, I don't know what brand it was but I'll be sure to ask. Also, he said that he's got a whole new set of ink on order that's supposed to be one of the best on the market and I'll ask about that one too. All I know is he used a size 3 needle on it and nothing took and then when he went back over the S he used a size 5 and pushed in harder and that area seems to have taken so far. I'll ask him about the ink though. Thanks.[/quote]

Size of the needle wouldn't have mattered. Saying he went to a 5 and pushed harder confirms my thought.

By looking at the pics it is apparent that he did not stretch the skin tight enough, possibly needle not set deep enough but more likely the first.

If you do not stretch the skin enough the needle just bounces on the skin and will not penetrate to deposit the ink deep enough. It will deposit ink but only on the very surface so when you wipe, it all comes off and the little in the surface comes out.

Different areas take ink easier. It looks like this is your upper arm shoulder area. This area is not as easy to tattoo as say your ankle or shin or back shoulder because of the added meat and muscle makes the area more springy, so more stretching is required. The type of ink will not matter unless it is very very thin but you still would have ended up with a dull looking grayish tattoo and at least redish lines (blood lines) from the needle.

Also he should be using a shader for the fill. Did he use the same needle to outline and fill?

Another possibility is his machine was not working properly. If the machine was not adjusted right it may not have had enough hit to penetrate the skin. All in all it is definitely a penetration issue.

(Ok no gigling here folks)

mommabird · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:04 am Post subject:

[quote="Ed Sr"]
All in all it is definitely a penetration issue.

(Ok no gigling here folks)[/quote]

Hey, I never even *thought* about giggling until you wrote that. Then of course I HAD to giggle once I realized what you said...ha! Laughing

the artist · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:58 am Post subject:

im not laughing yet momma.

omtatsat · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject: Re: Ink Not Taking to My Skin

[quote="johnsorrick"]I have an artist friend who is an amateur but he does very good work (I have seen many of his tattoos). He recently gave me one and all was going well until he went to wipe the tattoo only to discover that almost none of the ink took to my arm. I have had a tattoo in the past and had no issue with this and I was wondering if any of you out there with experience could tell me some possible reasons why this would occur? We thought that I either didn't respond well to that particular brand of ink, or maybe he wasn't going deep enough with the needle. He went back over some of it with a larger needle and pushed harder and more ink seemed to take at that point so I don't know what's going on and he's never had this happen before either. Can anyone help? Below are some images while in the process and then some afterward. I should also add that as time has gone by (I only got it about 4 hours ago) some of the ink seems to be showing more visible, but MOST of the ink didn't take at all.

Looking at the photos it is clear that your friend doesn't know much about tattooing at all.First you only use a 3 needle for outlining ...nothing else.You can fill in with a 5 or line with a 5 but that still suggests that you have a 5 liner or a 5 shader ,two differnt needles.Pressing harder is just going deeper and will very likely scar you more than anything.Maybe his needle was srewed up,he probably didn't even look at it...with an eye loop that is .There is no shortcut to learn how to tattoo, apprenticeship apprenticeship apprenticeship .There is no shortcut to getting a nice tattoo...go to the professional,pay the price,be happy..
You are very likely not going to let your friend fix your teeth for a deal,are you...
My advise ,go see a great tattoo artist and get your tattoo covered up once it healed,hopefully the work is as bad as it looks and most of the lines didn't take so there is less to cover up.You might even cover it up with the same theme,just bigger.
Sorry if this sounds harsh,but there is no nice way to give you advise on this.I hope you will see a proffesional that knows what they are doing .You will be surprised what can be done with cover ups,you will be very happy with your tattoo and you will experience the difference in pain cleanliness and workmanship.Stop trying to get a deal,this is your body and you will be looking at this tattoo for the rest of your life.
Cheap tattoos are not good =good tattoos are not cheap .

moondog · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:40 pm Post subject:

good advice for certain. thanks old post. but damn good stuff.