Tattoo Needle Guide

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Whether you are newbie to the tattoo industry or a seasoned professional, the large selection of different tattoo needle groupings, diameters, tapers and needle counts can be one hell of a headache to understand. In reality, once it does makes sense, you’ll wonder why you didn’t get it in the first place!

This article will help you make sense of it all and in turn, assist you in making the most informed decision possible when it comes to buying tattoo needles.

We’d also like to quickly mention that we (Barber DTS) go back a long time (click here to see how long) when it comes to tattoo products so you can rest assured the information found here is as accurate and knowledgeable as it’s going to get!

Tattoo Needle Types

When looking at a page of tattoo needles on a website or in a catalogue, it can seem a little overwhelming with all the different options available. No need to worry though! Here’s where the learning begins.

All these options fall into six basic groupings of tattoo needles: Round Liners, Round Shaders, Magnum Shaders, Curved Magnum Shaders, Flat Shaders and Double Stacks. Below we go into more detail on each type.

Round Liner needles

The pins on round liner needles are soldered in a round pattern to produce crisp, clean lining tattoo work. The thickness of the line will depend on the number round liner you choose (e.g. 01 very fine, 14 very thick) as well as the thickness/gauge of each pin (see Tattoo Needle Sizes below). Lining needles, once dipped in your ink, will let only small amounts of ink out to then be worked into the skin. If too much ink was let out, lining would be quite a task!

Commonly Used for: Dot work. All lining work both bold and intricate. Script and lettering. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Geometric. Tribal. Samoan.

Round Shader needles

Round shaders are very similar to round liners except the pins are not placed as close together. Meaning, for as well as doing thicker lines, they can also be used for colour filling and basic shading.

Commonly Used for: Some line work. Script and lettering. Basic shading and colour filling. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Geometric. Tribal. Samoan.

Magnum Shader needles

Magnum shaders are the preferred grouping or needle type for pretty much all shading work. Magnums hold and deliver a lot of ink, making them perfect for large areas of colour packing and shading. Less passes are required over an area to work the ink in meaning less trauma to the skin. There are a few different variations of magnum needles. See below.

Commonly Used for: Black and grey. All types of shading and colour packing. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan.

Curved Magnum Shader needles

Curved magnum shaders – also known as soft magnums, soft edge magnums and round magnums – are used in the same way except the pins are arranged so they arch at the centre. Meaning the edges of the needle run along the skin with more conformity, allowing for better dispersal of ink and a more consistent line. It’s also less damaging to the skin and helps with soft shading.

Commonly Used for: Black and grey. All types of shading and colour packing. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan.

Double Stack Magnum Shader needles

Not as current as they maybe once were. The pins on double stack magnums, or double stacks, are packed much more tightly together. This helps for any intricate shading or colour work where you still want it to perform as a magnum with many pins but not as spread out.

Commonly Used for: Shading and colour packing. Black and grey. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan.

Flat Shader Needles

Flat shader needles are pins that are soldered in a straight line on the needle bar. These needles are used for lining because their shape lets them deliver more ink to the skin. This means clearer, darker lines with just one stroke. Larger flat needles can be used for colour fills and shading as they deliver more ink quickly with just one pass. Flat needles are good for intricate shading such as in geometric patterns and some mandala work. Flat shader needles are also common in semi-permanent makeup.

Commonly Used for: Some line work. Small shading and colour packing. Black and grey. Colour realism. Japanese. Traditional and neo-traditional. Tribal. Samoan. Geometric.

Tattoo needle sizes explained

Now you know all about different needle groupings or types, it’s time to look at needle diameters, also known as gauges.

The gauge of a tattoo needle is directly linked to ink flow. The narrower the gauge or diameter, the more controlled and finer the flow of ink is. The gauge is indicated by a number (usually 8, 10 or 12), and diameter by a millimetre measurement. ALTHOUGH THEY MEAN THE SAME THING! Needle manufacturers and tattoo suppliers use both terminologies depending on where the needles are from and being sold to i.e. country/language.

#8 gauge (0.25mm diameter)

One of the smaller needle gauges available (but not the smallest) and sometimes referred to as Bugpins. Used when wanting a slower flow of ink for intricate or detailed work. Some use #8 gauge needles for most of their work simply because they like that they hold more ink at a time (as the pins are more tightly compacted).

#10 Gauge (0.30mm Diameter)

A very common needle size. Also referred to as Double Zeros. Popular with all styles of tattooing and needle groupings as fundamentally they are the middle gauge size (when accepting 8, 10 and 12 as the main three gauges). The ink flow on 0.30mm needles is still a steady, controlled flow but not as restricted and slow as an #8 or 0.25mm.

#12 Gauge (0.35mm Diameter)

Just like the 0.30mm needles. #12 gauges are highly popular across all needle groupings and tattoo styles. Anyone referring to #12 or 0.35mm needles may also call them Standards. Common in lining and traditional work as they have a faster ink flow. Great for bold lines and colour packing/shading large areas.

Other needle sizes not mentioned above: #6 or 0.20mm, #14 or 0.40 and #16 or 0.45mm! These are quite uncommon now though as they only have very few specific uses.

Tattoo needle counts

This is a simple one! Tattoo needle count basically means the number of pins used to make up the grouping. For example, a 1209RL means a 12 gauge (see above for gauge info), 09 Round Liner Needle. The 09 meaning 9 needle counts (or 9 pins used to make a round grouping). This would look like this:

Another example for you, just so it’s crystal clear.

Tattoo needle size chart and how to match your tips & tubes

We’ve put together this handy chart which will help you match the correct needles with the right size tips, or vice versa. It also indicates what type of work the needle size is used for.

0.25mm-Bugpin-Needles
Round Liners
Needle	Tube/Tip
03RL	03RT or 03VT
04RL	03RT or 03VT
05RL	03RT or 03VT
07RL	05RT or 03VT
08RL	05RT or 05VT
09RL	05RT or 05VT

0.25mm-Bugpin-Needles
Round Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
3RS	03RT or 03VT
5RS	03RT or 03VT
7RS	03RT or 03VT
9RS	05RT or 03VT
14RS	09RT or 07VT
18RS	09RT or 07VT

0.25mm-Bugpin-Needles
Magnum Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
7MG	05FT
9MG	05FT or 07FT
11MG	07FT
13MG	09FT
15MG	11FT
17MG	13FT
21MG	15FT
23MG	15FT or 17FT
25MG	17FT or 19FT

0.25mm-Bugpin-Needles
Curved Magnum Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
7CM	05FT
9CM	05FT or 07FT
11CM	07FT
13CM	09FT
15CM	11FT
17CM	13FT
21CM	15FT
23CM	15FT or 17FT
25CM	17FT or 19FT

0.30mm-DoubleZero-Needles
Round Liners
Needle	Tube/Tip
01RL	03RT/03VT
03RL	03RT/03VT
04RL	05RT/05VT
05RL	05RT/05VT
07RL	07RT/07VT
08RL	09RT/09VT
09RL	09RT/09VT
11RL	11RT/11VT
13RL	13RT/13VT
14RL	14RT/14VT
18RL	18RT

0.30mm-DoubleZero-Needles
Round Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
03RS	03RT or 03VT
05RS	05RT or 03VT
07RS	07RT or 05VT
08RS	09RT,07VT,09VT
09RS	09RT,07VT,09VT
11RS	11RT,09VT,11VT
14RS	14RT,11VT,14VT
18RS	18RT

0.30mm-DoubleZero-Needles
Magnum Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
05MG	05FT
07MG	07FT or 05FT
09MG	09FT or 07FT
11MG	11FT or 09FT
13MG	13FT or 11FT
15MG	15FT or 13FT
17MG	17FT or 15FT
19MG	19FT or 17FT
21MG	21FT or 19FT
23MG	23FT or 21FT
25MG	25FT or 23FT
27MG	27FT or 25FT

0.30mm-DoubleZero-Needles
Curved Magnum Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
05CM	05FT
07CM	07FT or 05FT
09CM	09FT or 07FT
11CM	11FT or 09FT
13CM	13FT or 11FT
15CM	15FT or 13FT
17CM	17FT or 15FT
19CM	19FT or 17FT
21CM	21FT or 19FT
23CM	23FT or 21FT
25CM	25FT or 23FT
27CM	27FT or 25FT

0.35mm-Standard-Needles
Round Liners
Needle	Tube/Tip
01RL	03RT or 03VT
03RL	03RT or 03VT
04RL	05RT or 05VT
05RL	05RT or 05VT
07RL	07RT or 07VT
08RL	09RT or 09VT
09RL	09RT or 09VT
11RL	11RT or 11VT
13RL	13RT or 13VT
14RL	14RT or 14VT
18RL	18RT

0.35mm-Standard-Needles
Round Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
03RS	03RT
05RS	05RT
07RS	07RT
08RS	09RT
09RS	09RT
11RS	11RT
14RS	14RT
18RS	18RT

0.35mm-Standard-Needles
Magnum Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
05MG	05FT
07MG	07FT
09MG	09FT
11MG	11FT
13MG	13FT
15MG	15FT
17MG	17FT
19MG	19FT
21MG	21FT
23MG	23FT
25MG	25FT
27MG	27FT

0.35mm-Standard-Needles
Curved Magnum Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
05CM	05FT
07CM	07FT
09CM	09FT
11CM	11FT
13CM	13FT
15CM	15FT
17CM	17FT
19CM	19FT
21CM	21FT
23CM	23FT
25CM	25FT
27CM	27FT

0.35mm-Standard-Needles
Flat Shaders
Needle	Tube/Tip
04FS	05FT
05FS	07FT
06FS	07FT
07FS	09FT
09FS	11FT
13FS	15FT
15FS	17FT

0.35mm-Standard-Needles
Double Stack Magnums
Needle	Tube/Tip
05MG2	04FT or 05FT
07MG2	04FT or 05FT
09MG2	05FT
11MG2	07FT
13MG2	07FT
15MG2	09FT

0.25mm-Bugpin-Needles
Double Stack Magnums
Needle	Tube/Tip
05MG2	04FT or 05FT
07MG2	04FT or 05FT
09MG2	04FT or 05FT
11MG2	05FT or 07FT
13MG2	05FT or 07FT
15MG2	07FT or 09FT

Tattoo Needle buying and what to look out for

Are the needles pre-sterilised?

We can confirm all needles sold at Barber DTS are individually blister packaged and EO Gas sterilised. Most needles this day and age should be pre-sterile. You must always check this. If not, you will need to correctly sterilise them yourself using an Autoclave BEFORE any tattooing on human skin is carried out. Sterilised needles will be marked with expiration dates for when the sterility runs out.

Are the needles well made?

Be sure to check the needles/pins are straight and securely soldered onto the needle bar. Crooked or bent needles can cause major skin damage if you don’t notice you are using one. They will also not hold or disperse the ink correctly and will cause you a complete nightmare.

Will these needles work with my equipment?

Be sure to check the needles you are looking to purchase will match your set up. Make sure you don’t need Tattoo Cartridges rather than tattoo needles. Also make sure you have or buy the correct tubes or tips to match your needle gauge, size and type. For help with this, refer to our needle and tip matching guide above.

Are these tattoo needles right for what I want to do?

You don’t want to buy some 15 magnum needles if you specifically need to carry out some sleek line work. Same applies if you need to fill in some large colour or do some soft shading; you don’t want to end up realising you’ve bought some small round liner needles. Again, be sure to check out our handy guide above which will indicate what type of tattoo work each needle configuration is used for.

In conclusion

As much as this is a tattoo needle guide, and we’ve tried to give you as much of the correct information you’ll need. . . it is just a guide. If you are searching for and finding this tattoo needle guide, you should already have a good level of understanding of tattoo needles and their uses by the route of a tattoo apprenticeship with a professional tattoo artist.

Some tattoo artists may not agree with some information provided above, and rightfully so! Finding the perfect tattoo needle type, size and gauge for you and your style takes time and a lot of trial and error. Some artists will always go to a Bugpin #8 15 Curved Mag needle for their shading work. Others wouldn’t even dream of it! A lot of equipment and supplies within the tattoo world boil down to user preference. From inks and needles to machines and power supplies.

If you’d like further guidance on tattoo needle buying or matching your needle, tips and tubes, please contact our friendly sales team on +44 (0)114 257 6022 or [email protected] alternatively you can also contact us via our Facebook and Instagram channels.