• The Power supply

    It is important to understand about the power supply because the tattoo machine relies on this a great deal. If you can’t get electricity into your machine you won’t be able to work. This is because electricity is needed to work the electromagnets in the gun so as the make the needle go up and down. If you don’t have electricity then the skin can’t be punctured and not ink will go into the skin.

    You need to consider what you are going to use for a power supply. Most tattoo artists prefer a battery set-up like you might find in a car. This can be made using car batteries (trickle charger) and this will provide enough electricity for your machine.

    A lot of other tattoo artists prefer to use a traditional power-outlet to keep their tattoo gun powered. Some artists would never even consider using batteries while others love them. The decision as to which is best is a personal one, and after a while in the business you will have your preference too. We will now examine these power supply options a bit closer.

    Two main types of power supply

    Every tattoo machine works by electricity creating magnetism which works to move the armature bar and thus the needles up and down; you probably realize this by now already. You might still be asking yourself about how to get the power into your gun. The two most common methods are;

    • Power unit which will be from the mains supply
    • Battery set up

    Battery set Up

    The battery set up is the cheapest and simplest way to use a tattoo machine. It is a simple method and involves connecting batteries to a potentiometer (rheostat); this machine controls the amount of power that your tattoo machine will receive.

    You will be able to use most styles of battery so long as they have posts on them for your wires to wrap around. The usual requirement is 5-12 volts for a 10-coil tattoo machine. It is also worth noting that you will need rechargeable batteries.

    How to connect the power supply to your tattoo machine

    • The first thing that you will need to do is connect the batteries to your rheostat/potentiometer. The reason why you don’t want the batteries to go straight to your machine is that you want to keep the power regulated. The potentiometer most often comes with a capacitor where any unused power can be stored.
    • Out of the rheostat there will be a single cord that will connect with the clip cord. When you see a clip cord it might remind you of barbeque tongs; the only difference is that they have electricity going through them. These clip cords are attached to the back of your tattoo machine by usually slipping into the holes provided.
    • When the rheostat is turned on you will then be able to alter the amount of power you have coming into your machine. Most tattoo machines also have a capacitor so that when you are not using the machine it can store some power.
    • A foot switch is another item that you may have attached to your unit and this allows you to turn the power in the machine on and off; it looks a bit like a sewing machine.
    • At the back of the machine is where the actual power is connected. When connecting this you need to ensure that the positive is connected to the positive post and the negative is connected to the negative. Most often you will have alligator clips connected to the wires or in some cases they will be soldered onto the post.
    • At the side of the potentiometer you will find a knob; you use this to control the voltage. You will also find places to attach your foot switch and clip cord.

    Useful information

    The capacitor stores electricity and it is this that maintains voltage levels evenly while you are working with your machine. This is important with a tattoo machine because there is a lot of turning the machine on and off; if you didn’t have this you would need to wait while the machine powered up every time you turned it on again.