What to Consider before Buying Cartridge Needles?
If you’re new to tattooing and order supplies on your own for the first time, you’ll be choosing between hundreds of brands and manufacturers. There are some basic signs of quality you’ll want to look for in every needle. This guide summarized by CNC® Professional Tattoo artists and we hope not only the best cartridge needle you can buy in our store but also some knowledge you can learn from. If you’re a beginner at tattooing and want to know more about tattoo needles, the basic knowledge about tattoo needles blog may help you.
Some professional tattoo artists are very happy to share their feelings about the use of tattoo needles, the pros and cons of these tattoo needles. Daniel shares his review of the Quelle tattoo needle. This is a great help to get a full understanding of a product.
Table of Contents
1.Firstly consider: Are the tattoo needles pre-sterilized?
Unless you want to spend a big chunk of your life autoclaving brand new needles, check to make sure the needles you’re ordering have been pre-sterilized. Pre-sterilized needles will be individually packed, labeled as sterile, and marked with a lot number and expiration date. Keep this information for your records. If you’re ever unsure of the information (or you’re unsure the needles met sterilization standards), request a copy of the sterilization certificate from the supplier. Suppliers are required to keep this information on hand and should have no problem sending you a copy. Rhein® needle is a sub-brand of CNC®, all needles products will follow the GB medical standards and manufactured in the Aseptic workshop. The Lot No. and Expire date printed on each single cartridge needle.
2.Suitability: Does this work with my gear(tattoo machine)?
Well, you want to buy needles for your tattoo machine, but not buy a tattoo machine for needles. So, if you do not want to do that, make sure the needle suits your machine/gear. All the cartridge machines from CNC® follow the universal standard and are suitable for most types of cartridge needles on the market, and of course, including all needles in our store.
The advantage of CNC Tattoo Needle Cartridge is that these needles are suitable for most tattoo machines on the market and the tattoo industry.
3.Quality: Are the needles straight, unbent, and sharp?
If the needles you ordered are crooked, bent, or dull, we suggest do not use them. Bent, dull groupings can do major damage to the skin and won’t distribute the ink evenly. To make matters worse, they can cause serious illnesses if you use them. We can proudly say that this has never happened to any of our products.
4.Craftsmanship: Are the needles well soldered?
Check where the needles attach to the bar or center rod: are the needles loose? If so, you won’t want to use them. Loose needles are at risk for coming off during your session and can cause the same issues like crooked, dull groupings.
5.Needle usage: Is this the right needle for what I want to do?
The last thing you’re going to want to check is if you’re ordering the needles you actually need. Like we explained above, different groupings have different uses. Here’s a sample table to help you make the decision:
| Needle Grouping | Tube Size | Generally used for |
|---|---|---|
| 4F, 5F | 4 – 5 flat | Lines and detail |
| 6F, 7F | 6 – 7 flat | Shading, thicker lines, and color fill |
| 9F | 8 – 9 flat | Shading and color fill |
| 5M1 | 4 – 5 flat | Thick lines, color fill, and shading |
| 7M1 | 6 – 7 flat | Lines, shading, and color fill |
| 9M1 | 8 – 9 flat | Thick outlines, shading, color fill |
| 11M1 | 11 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 13M1 | 13 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 15M1 | 15 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 5M2, 7M2, 9M2 | 4 – 5 flat | Outlines, lines, detail, and shading |
| 11M2, 13M2 | 6 -7 flat | Thick outlines, thick lines, shading, and color fill |
| 15M2 | 8 – 9 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 5MR | 4 – 5 flat | Small lines, detail work, and intricate shading |
| 7MR | 6 – 7 flat | Lines, shading, color fill, and detail work |
| 9MR | 8 – 9 flat | Outlines, shading, and color fill |
| 11MR | 11 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 13MR | 13 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 15MR | 15 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 1RL, 3RL | 1 – 3 round | Lines, intricate shading, and fill-in |
| 4RL, 5RL | 4 – 5 round | Outlines, shading, and fill-in |
| 7RL | 7 round | Shading and color fill |
| 8RL, 9RL | 8 – 9 round | Shading, thick outlines, and color fill |
| 11RL, 14 RL | 11 – 14 round | Shading and color fill |
| 3RS | 1 – 3 round | Lines and small detail |
| 5RS | 4 – 5 round | Lines, slim shading areas, and small detail |
| 7RS | 7 round | Shading, thicker lines, small area fill in |
| 8RS, 9RS | 8 – 9 round | Shading, thick outlines, and color fill in |
| 14RS | 11 – 14 round | Shading and color |
| 4F, 5F | 4 – 5 flat | Lines and detail |
| 6F, 7F | 6 – 7 flat | Shading, thicker lines, and color fill |
| 9F | 8 – 9 flat | Shading and color fill |
| 5M1 | 4 – 5 flat | Thick lines, color fill, and shading |
| 7M1 | 6 – 7 flat | Lines, shading, and color fill |
| 9M1 | 8 – 9 flat | Thick outlines, shading, color fill |
| 11M1 | 11 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 13M1 | 13 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 15M1 | 15 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 5M2, 7M2, 9M2 | 4 – 5 flat | Outlines, lines, detail, and shading |
| 11M2, 13M2 | 6 -7 flat | Thick outlines, thick lines, shading, and color fill |
| 15M2 | 8 – 9 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 5MR | 4 – 5 flat | Small lines, detail work, and intricate shading |
| 7MR | 6 – 7 flat | Lines, shading, color fill, and detail work |
| 9MR | 8 – 9 flat | Outlines, shading, and color fill |
| 11MR | 11 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 13MR | 13 flat | Color fill and shading |
| 15MR | 15 flat | Color fill and shading |
What we suggest
Although all businessmen will praise their products as being of the highest quality and childlike. We are also so vulgar.
This comes from our confidence in our production process and product quality control. We have world-leading automated production lines and extremely strict hygiene standards required. And we take responsibility for every box of needles we sell to the end. The latest addition to our current range is the CNC Cartridge Tattoo Needle Police. Not only is it a huge improvement in handholding feel, but more importantly, it will make the tattoo industry more user-oriented, and it’s time to get those substandard tattoo needles out of the market.
