Tattoo • ology

There are two basic types of tattoo machines – liners and shaders. They are very similar in the way they are made, but they are used for different purposes.

As their names imply, one is used for creating the outlines and detail work for tattoos, and the other is used to create the colors that fill the lines. The main difference in the way the two machines are built is in the coils. A liner has smaller coils, and is also built to be held in a more upright position. The shader is built to be held at an angle.

A liner iron holds special liner needles. Liner needles consist of a bar to which a small number of needles are soldered into a very small area. Liners typically only hold anywhere from one to ten needles. One needle may be used for very fine details, although this is rare. As many as nine or ten needles may be used for very thick outlines. A group of three needles is typically used for most outline work. A liner is often called a “round”. This is because the liner needles are typically arranged in a circular pattern.

Since the shader covers larger areas of skin, it may hold many more needles than a liner. It also has larger coils, delivering more power to cover those larger areas of skin. Shader needles are typically arranged into two rows of needles in a flat shape. You may hear a professional refer to a shader as a magnum, or mag.

The easy way to remember the difference in needle configuration is that liner needles are arranged in a round shape, like a pencil, and shader needles are arranged in a long, flat configuration, like a paint brush or roller.

© 2008 Tattooology.com
Do NOT Copy