The tattoo equipment industry today is a rather conservative and established area of production in which new players rarely appear, and we have to wait for novelties or technological breakthroughs from the “old timers” of the market.
There is nothing wrong with this, as experienced brands, which have accumulated a wealth of knowledge about what equipment the market needs, are actively applying this knowledge to the newest generations of products.
The following are the top tattoo machine brands and the best representatives of their product lines. Professionals will probably find something new for themselves; newcomers will be able to better understand the tattoo equipment market and choose a brand “in spirit” for themselves.
Quick glance at the best tattoo machine brands:
- Cheyenne
- FK Irons
- InkJecta
- Ink Machines
- Bishop Rotary
- Vlad Blad
- Kwadron
- CNC
- DragonHawk
- Bigwasp
- Hummingbird
Table of Contents (clickable)
Related:
Best Tattoo Machine Brands for 2023
Cheyenne
The top tattoo machine brand is german manufacturer Cheyenne. The term “traditional German quality” has long been synonymous with benchmark equipment and tools. Cheyenne machines fully prove this view. They have become iconic and need no special presentation.
Cheyenne machines are modified rotary models by design. They have an improved eccentric, increased speed and motor power. Most Cheyenne machines are small in size, but very powerful! There is almost no vibration. Their main difference from all other machines is the registered cartridge system.
The brand’s products are premium tools. However, each of them is absolutely worth the money. Instead of buying a short-lived Chinese product, you can buy a Cheyenne and have no regrets because it’ s an investment in the quality of your work and the customer satisfaction.
By the way, Cheyenne is the founder of modular tattoo machines. Then they made a real revolution in producing tattoo equipment.
The advantages of Cheyenne tattoo machines:
- Low weight
- Quiet
- Smooth operation of the needle
- Low vibration
- Comfortable, ergonomic, good balance
- Proprietary cartridge system for rapid cartridge changes
- Easy and precise adjustment of needle insertion depth
- Ability to work with different power units
- No loss or discoloration of the pattern during healing
FK Irons
The FK Irons brand products are popular due to the extensive capabilities of their equipment, the accuracy of operation and assembly, the practicality and lightness of the tattoo guns.
The company’s history dates back to 2007, when the founder – Gaston Siciliano – after producing several tattoo machines literally in his garage, received positive feedback on his products from users. Having developed his own production technology, the manufacturer received an incredible success: today his equipment is considered one of the market leaders. Besides the tattoo machines themselves, the manufacturer also provides grips of its own production.
Fk Irons products are reliable, solidly assembled, well designed, technologically advanced and always in tune with the times. This is a company that strives to create innovative and quality machines and devices.
InkJecta
A little more than ten years ago, two tattoo artists and friends, Byron and Chris, made some tattoo machines, purely for fun (familiar story, right?). No one could have guessed then that soon the two friends would become the heads of a world-renowned company, because today InkJecta is known by almost all tattooists.
Brand products are known for their high quality and close attention to detail. Due to the fact that the InkJecta tattoo machines are super-light compared to other professional tattoo machines on the market, the devices from this manufacturer are becoming very mass-produced. They are in the medium price range, versatile, reliable, almost trouble-free. Each machine is assembled and tested at the factory manually, which guarantees reliability and minimal chance of defects. The large range allows to choose a machine even if one’ s preferences are very specific.
Ink Machines
Unique solutions, innovations and tested products are what Ink Machines is after. The company is often ready to go against the market, for example, offering to modify the classic pen with additional adapters for different types of connections. Well, these are not always successful solutions. However, they are always very high quality, reliable, tested by many tattoo artists.
The brand positions itself as a manufacturer of exceptional quality equipment with the goal of taking the tattoo artist off the task of finding the right equipment. The manufacturers believe that the tattoo artist will become the best if they focus on creating when they have good and quality tools handy.
The Dragonfly is still the best and highest quality tattoo machine of all for many artists because of its popularity and versatility.
Here’s a list of the best Ink Machines you can buy:
Bishop Rotary
The owner of Bishop, Franco Viscovi, is one of the most famous tattoo artists. Putting all his experience and knowledge into the development of quality tattoo equipment, he has created a brand that is known for its quality all over the world. These American tattoo machines are deservedly and confidently occupy a leading place in all the top of the best rotary tattoo machines. All of the machines are structurally sound and reliably assembled. They also belong to the premium class equipment.
The main distinguishing feature of Bishop Rotary tools is their high performance. It is 30% higher than models from other manufacturers. This has been achieved by improving the rotor mechanism, the precise balancing of the housing and the use of a powerful, high-speed motor.
Other advantages of Bishop machines include perfect weight balancing, high-quality motors, hand-assembly (almost no risk of defects), and tight needle fastening.
Vlad Blad
Vlad Blad Irons machines are as good as the well-known models both in performance and ergonomics.
The product range includes a wide variety of machines, among them there are both rotary and coil tattoo guns. Special attention goes to the precise and high-quality liners, which give clear contrasting lines. There are shaders that allow you to make transitions, shadows or tightly painted areas.There are also versatile machines that can perform any task after a little tuning.
The brand’s signature feature is the design and appearance of the devices. There are a lot of custom or unique designs, constructions and interesting drawings on frames in the product line.
The company gives a 25-year warranty on the frames, indicating the manufacturer’s confidence in the quality of products manufactured.
VladBlad’s best products
The number of Vlad Blad Irons is quite large. At the same time, it is difficult to call some of them the best, because each machine is designed to solve a specific problem. Among the most notable models are:
Kwadron
This Polish manufacturer has presented the market a fairly high quality products and therefore has established itself as a reliable brand, which can be trusted. The company has been manufacturing tattoo equipment for more than 10 years, which is not long compared to other brands. Nevertheless, during this period, the brand has introduced several flagships: Equaliser Proton Rotary Pen, Spike, Fox Mini V2, JC Hammer. All of them are quite durable, get the paint under the skin well and do not traumatize it too much.
Kwadron tattoo machines belong to the medium price segment, so they are a great alternative to the more expensive premium machines. The high accuracy and stability of the products at an affordable price have won the hearts of many artists.
Here are a few items we would recommend you consider buying:
We decided to make a separate list of Chinese manufacturers. Here are the most high-quality brands whose devices are made in China, and which for the most part are of sufficient quality and reliability to buy and use in practice.
CNC
This is a really good quality tattoo machine brand, one of the best among the average price category. The umbrella brand CNC combines several subsidiary brands, such as Hawink, Quelle, RHEIN. Therefore, now we are going to talk about all these brands at once.
Rotary devices are grouped under the name of these brands. Among the brightest models, there are top wireless tattoo machines and good tattoo pens of different lengths, diameters, and power. The devices are made with machine tools. Sure, as with most manufacturing, there can be defects, but these brands have good customer service, with quality feedback.
DragonHawk
DragonHawk is the best-selling and most popular brand among Chinese tattooing equipment. Several innovative solutions have really filled the market with its products: Mast Tour, Atom, Mast Pen, Falcon, Archer, Extreme. All of these machines are the most suitable for one function or another: The Mast Tour is a very short and compact pen, suitable for a compact palm, whereas the Atom is most often used for permanent makeup or shading.
DragonHawk started back in 2001, today it’s a very marketable and quite high-quality brand, which embodies in its products the experience of these years. If your budget is limited, or you are a beginner and want to try tattooing, DragonHawk products will definitely not disappoint you. After all, such devices cost in the area of $50-100 dollars, and the results give excellent for such money.
Bigwasp
The following brand is popular for one the most popular machines, as well as good quality consumables. Particularly BigWasp cartridges are very popular among tattoo artists, as they are high quality but fairly inexpensive. The company, indeed, specializes in producing the highest quality needles and cartridges in the industry.
The BigWasp machine is reliable, practical, and is a handy and lightweight pen worth considering for purchase on a limited budget.
Hummingbird
Bronc are tattoo machines from the famous Hummingbird company. Their development was carried out by real professionals, who used only high quality materials in their work. Bronc tattoo machines have an excellent price/quality ratio, surpassing the tools of other manufacturers in this parameter. That is the reason why they are so popular on the market.
This company’s devices are compatible with a variety of tattooing styles and have good power characteristics. Tattoo artists note the durability and comfort during use. This is not the cheapest brand from the Chinese, but still very cheap, relative to tattoo machines for professionals.
Final Thoughts
The tattoo equipment market is very saturated with brands and manufacturers who produce primarily for the love of the entire industry. Most of the professional brands started by making a couple of tattoo machines for the fun of just one or two tattoo artists. Today, they are world-renowned brands. Every tattoo artist chooses their own, but all of the companies on this list can boldly and confidently claim a place among your equipment set.
