When outlining letters, a good general rule to follow is that the less stops and starts you make, the better the lettering. It makes for a more consistent flow. Blot away the ink after each step so you can see what you have done and where you are going for the next stroke.
Some customers prefer names in a handwriting style. If they have better handwriting than you do, they can write what they want on a guidelined piece of paper, which you set-up, and then you can copy it and stencil it on the skin. This appeals to some, because their tattoo inscription will be in their own handwriting.
Discourage the use of girlfriends’ names in tattoos. These names are usually outdated in the majority of cases, and it leaves the customer with a name they no longer want on themselves. When people insist on it, just say no. If a compromise must be made, tattoo the name in a light red ink so when they return to get rid of it (and they will), you can tattoo over it to hide it. See Chapter on Cover-ups for more details on this.
One more important thing to bring up is spelling errors. You would be amazed at how many people are walking around with misspelled words tattooed on them. This looks bad and is very unprofessional. Never guess at a word that you don’t know and have a dictionary handy to look them up. Be positive at what you are spelling. If they are foreign words, have the customer spell them out for you, and the same goes for names.
Be careful and practice every night, and you will soon master lettering, an important category in professional tattooing.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: angelina jolie tattoos, dragon tattoo, gothic tattoos, tribal tattoos

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Bacteria possess certain characteristics such as: some require oxygen to live, they are known as Aerobic. Those that do not are know as Anaerobic. There are bacteria that are called Thermostabile, which means that they are not easily altered or decomposed by heat… those that are Thermolabile are easily decomposed by heat.
You will also come across the term spore. A spore is a reproductive cell produced by plants and some protozoans - it is the asexual reproduction of many unicellular animals and plants. These spores possess thick walls enabling them to withstand unfavorable environmental conditions such as extreme heat.
Certain bacteria form spores but more in the nature of a defense mechanism than for reproduction. These spores are difficult to destroy because they are very resistant and require prolonged exposure to heat to destroy them.
So, as we see, some bacteria love heat, and if they are spore formers, high heat alone will not do the job, so dry heat is out.
Some sterilizers utilize boiling water and steam in an unsealed receptacle know as “flowing steam”… temperature 212° F (IOO C)… this is also inadequate. Boiling water alone is good for tea and coffee but useless against bacteria.
Exposing the article to heat and steam at intermittent intervals, called tyndal-ization… is another inadequate procedure.
How about sterilization by gas, e.g., ethylene oxide. Great, but too explosive. Or formaldehyde… again, great, but formaldehyde is trapped in a ruling right now linking it as a carcinogen (able to cause cancer); also too dangerous.
We are narrowed down to the autoclave, the instrument of choice, that kills not only bacteria, but also spores.
To autoclave properly, we must first understand the mechanics of the system. This employs a temperature of 273° F, with steam under pressure of 15-17 pounds per square inch (PSI) for 30 minutes (50 minutes from cold start) and a 15 minute cool down or drying period (the door can be open about 1″ during this period).

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
Tags: celtic tattoos, dragonfly tattoos, gothic tattoos, religious tattoos

Filed under: Sterile Techniques | No Comments »