The History of the Tattoo Machine
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 IST
More and more people are getting tattoos today, and they do not carry the same social stigma that they used to. But we didn't always use the tattoo machines that you see in your standard parlor.
History and Patenting
The electric tattooing machine was officially patented on Dec. 8th, 1891 by a New York tattoo artist named Samuel O'Reilly. But even O’Reilly would be the first to admit that his invention was really an adaptation of a machine invented by Thomas Edison—the Autographic Printing Pen. O’Reilly witnessed a demonstration of the electric pen, a sort of writing drill that Edison had built to allow documents to be etched into stencils and then copied. The electric pen was a failure. The tattooing machine was an unqualified, worldwide smash.
How it Works
O’Reilly’s tattoo machine worked by using a hollow needle filled with permanent ink. An electric motor powered the needle in and out of the skin at a rate of up to 50 punctures per second. The tattoo needle inserted a small drop of ink below the surface of the skin each time. The original machine patent allowed for different sized needles deliver varying amounts of ink, a very design-focused consideration.
Before O’Reilly’s innovation, tattoos—the word comes from the Tahitian word “tatu” which means "to mark something"—were much harder to make. Tattoo artists worked by hand, perforating the skin perhaps three times a second as they installed their designs. O’Reilly’s machine with its 50 perforations per second was an enormous improvement in efficiency.
Further enhancements and refinements to the tattoo machine have been made and the modern tattooing device is now capable of delivering 3,000 punctures per minute.
Related Topics
Trending News & Articles
ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...
Recently posted . 211K views . 1 min read
If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...
Recently posted . 10K views . 2 min read
The Langya henipavirus has a place with a similar group of infections, including Nipah, which is known to kill up to 3/4 of people in extreme cases.
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
Queen's death: The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately...
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
More in Spiritual
Iterative evolution happens when the same or similar structures evolve out of the same common ancestor, but at different times – meani...
Recently posted. 717 views . 1 min read
NASA's InSight Mars lander’s instruments will allow scientists “to stare down deep into the planet”.
Recently posted. 765 views . 0 min read
Researchers have just discovered the remains of a hybrid human.
Recently posted. 831 views . 0 min read
Recently posted . 871 views
Recently posted . 829 views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 1K views . 49 min read
Recently posted . 3K views . 67 min read
We must all have heard stories of our parents apparent struggles during their childhood when they were assigned household chores. While some of us would definitely ...
Recently posted. 913 views . 1 min read
HIGHLIGHTS
*President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka made the announcement to mark the s...
Recently posted. 860 views . 3 min read