With the plethora of different types and the lack of international nomenclature for size and shape, it makes sense to be confused.
The 4 different characteristics that I will deal with are the diameter of the needle, the tip of the needle, the number of needles and the arrangement of the needles.
The first two features concern each needle separately – as a unit – while the next two concern the entire needle.
Needle diameter – color intensity capability
The different types of needles for Tattooing concerns the diameter of the needles (their thickness at the widest point) we can distinguish them from the first 2 numbers that we find in the needle box. For example, if I look at the packaging I will notice a number that refers to the production of the needles (LOT NUMBER)
A number that concerns when the packaging expires (EXPIRED DATE)
And somewhere a number like this 1209RS.
The first two numbers, in example 12, show us the diameter of the needle. The most common diameters on the market are 4 and are the following 12, 10, 8, 6.
In our example we would have 1209RS, 1009RS, 0809RS, 0609RS, respectively. The number 12 indicates the largest diameter which is 0.35mm. The number 10 indicates the diameter 0.30mm, the number 8 indicates the diameter of each needle 0.25mm and finally the number 6 indicates the diameter 0.20mm.
What is the use of different diameters? The creation of different holes (dots) in the skin where the ink will be placed. The larger the dot we create, the more ink will enter, so the greater the intensity of the bot we created. Lots of dots in a row will make us a line.
The larger diameter (12) is the most common while the (10) is often found in liner needles.
Needle tip – ease of penetration into the skin
Here things get complicated. The letters on the tip of the needle do not have a specific standardization but usually the manufacturers add at the end of the complex numbers and letters as we saw in the previous example 1209RS.
Extra letters are
LT (long tip)
St (short tip)
ELT (extremely long tip)
indicating in the same order long nose, short nose and extremely long nose. More specifically, we would have in our example the following 1209RSLT, or 1209RSST, or 1209RSELT but also possibly other letters (eg MB, BB, etc). In our examples the letters LT indicate a long nose (if the needle was a pencil, a well-sharpened pencil). Specifically, the tip of the needle from the base of the tip to the tip is 2.00mm. In the ST it is 1.5mm and in the ELT can reach a peak of 7.00MM. What is the usefulness of the long tip? The ease of penetration into the skin. Whatever the tip of the tattoo needle, we will reach the same depth that is 2.5mm average. If our needle is sharp, it will penetrate more easily and reach the desired depth more easily and it does not bother the skin. Of course it has a cost, as it will leave less ink in the vertical color column in each hole created by the needle. An inverted cone is created each time the needle is pierced. If the needle is sharper it will give a thinner column in the background. Something desirable in the line and detail of shadings but not in the filling and color placement. In the last case, we would use ST needles, which will leave more color in the background but will injure the skin more easily and require more impact force to penetrate the skin.
Number of needles.
Determines the thickness of the line.
The number of needles placed together on each type of needle we buy is indicated by the number after the diameter numbers. In our example 1209RSLT, the number 9 indicates that I have 9 needles together. So in the example 10013RLLT, the number 13 indicates that I will have 13 needles glued together. Of course, 13 needles give a thicker line than 9 needles if all the others are the same.
Needle arrangement – line type.
The arrangement with which the needles are glued to the bar is indicated by the letters RL, RS, F, M1, M2, RM and they are after the number indicating how many needles there are glued to the bar. Example:
1209RLLT
We have: 12 (0.35mm diameter of each needle)
09 (9 needles glued to the bar)
RL (Round Liner = round for line)
LT (2.00mm the tip of each needle)
So the arrangement of the needles can be:
Category of Round Needles
RL = Thick arrangement in a round pattern suitable for creating a line
RS = Sparse arrangement in a round pattern suitable for a soft sparse line, for shade and even for filling with meandering or helical movement.
Category of flat needles.
F = in order layout on a level with a dense or sparse pattern, depending on the manufacturer, the diameter and the tip of each needle.
Suitable for shading, for filling but also for line if we use it on the side. Especially for geometric designs it can look extremely useful.
Be careful this needle can “dig” like a shovel (it also has a similar pattern)
M1 = in order layout with 2 levels.
The lower level is wider than the upper and each needle reaching exactly an imaginary straight line created by the adjacent one. The position of these needles is sparse and allows to use it as a “brush”.
It is suitable for any type of shade, great for water/waves, hair and any creation that requires gaps between the lines. Ideal for graded shades, suitable for filling and coloring with appropriate movement – helical or meandering.
It’s skin friendly. It does not “dig” easily except for the edges that could dig into the repetitive movement if their position is not parallel to the surface of the skin.
M2 = Layout in 2 levels such as M1 with the difference that the layout pattern is dense. The most suitable for color.
RM = Similar to the M1 but the needles forms a curved shape at the end of the needles. Suitable for graded shading, especially in cases where we want to give curves to our design. The fact that we have a curved edge helps us not to dig the skin with repeated movements since the edges do not injure as the other M needles would do (M1, M2)
