What Size Needle is Best For Tattoo Lining
With so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which top-selling tattoo needle models and settings are best for you. When you enter the tattooing world, you must know about all equipment related to the industry. After testing various needles, we found that the standard needle size is #12 gauge with 0.35 diameter. As for the lining, you need to know what size needle is best for tattoo lining. You must have basic knowledge about the size of needles for different purposes.
What Size Needle is Best For Tattoo Lining
The perfect size depends entirely on your personal preferences and your desired design.
But initially, it’s necessary to know the capabilities of various tattoo needles. Because multiple needle sizes and settings have distinct impacts on the skin, you must learn how to set up needle depth on a machine. Hence, you need to understand the needle before choosing one according to your size and particular design.
With the help of this article, you can set the standard needle size before your desired design. Here, we explained various sizes and mentioned the needle best for the lining. Further, you can also learn how many hands are used in a tattoo machine.
Explanation of Different Needle Sizes
Here, we explain in detail the types of tattoo needles and uses, for what purpose, and which size is best also explained in detail. In this section, we elaborate on the gauges and diameters of needles, and you will understand which tattoo needles are used for what.
There are various groups of needles, but here you will understand diameters, also called gauges.
8Gauge
This gauge needle has a diameter of 0.25mm. This size needle is small but not the smallest on the available market. Mainly, these needles are used in detailed work because you need a slow injection of ink into the body in small and complex work. The gauge #8 hands keep more ink and are tightly gripped into the machine because complicated operations need more tightness and focus.
10Gauge
These needles have a 0.30mm diameter. This needle ink injection speed is slower than the needle 0.25. This needle size is most commonly used and is a medium gauge needle. These size needles are applicable for tasks like lining shading and are compatible with large designs.
12Gauge
This size needle gauge comes with a 0.35mm diameter. The #12 gauge is mainly used in gauge size. It is widely applicable to needle size. These needles make sure for fast injection of ink. The #12 gauge needle is a standard-size needle used for various tasks, like shading and lining, and also excellent for large tattoos.
Different types of needles with functions
Different tattoo needle types and uses are used according to design and working style. We also discuss tattoo needle sizes and use charts briefly.
1. Round shader
Round shaders cluster needles in a circle, similar to round liners. There is more room between each pin, which is the main change. Because of this, you may use some round shader to make thick lines, which is helpful for highly bold linework in regular tattoos.
Used for
- Coloring and shading
- Lining work
- Lettering and script
- Used for geometric designs
- For traditional and non-traditional
- Round liner
Round clusters of needles are known as round liners. Additionally, the hands are grouped into a point, enabling accurate lining procedures. All of your dot work, geometry, and fine line work is no match for these needles. An excellent round liner or two is necessary for anything with lines. However, there are more tattoo liner needles than the standard round liner alternatives.
used for
- Best for all types of lining work
- Best for all traditional designs
- Best for dot work
- Best for geometric work
- Flat shader
Pins soldered in a straight line on the needle bar are known as flat shader needles. Due to their form, these needles can apply additional ink to the skin when used for lining. With just one stroke, lines will be crisper and darker. Larger flat needle can provide more ink quickly with just one pass, making them ideal for coloring fills and shading.
used for
- Small shading
- Color packing
- Line work
- Best for geometric works
- Magnum shader needles
Magnum tattoo needles have two layers placed horizontally on top of one another. Irregular spacing between each hand allows for greater ink penetration throughout the skin. Magnum needles are frequently used for sturdy work like heavy color packing since they cover a large skin area. They work well for shading as well.
Used for
- All types of shading
- All types of lining
- For realistic colors
- For black and grey
Needles size chart
This chart summarizes various tattoo cartridge needles sizes with groups used for line work.
| Size | Needles groups |
| 4-5 flat | 4F, 5F |
| 6-7 flat | 6F, 7F |
| 4-5 flat | 5M1 |
| 6-7 flat | 7M1 |
| 4-5 flat | 5M2, 7M2,9M2 |
| 6-7 flat | 11M2, 13M2 |
| 1-3 round | 1RL, 3RL |
| 4 – 5 round | 5RS |
| 7 round | 7RS |
people also ask
Conclusion
In this article, we give you the correct information about needle size for the lining. As mentioned above, the standard needle size is #12 gauge with 0.35 diameter, widely used for lining tattoos. We are confident that this article helps you to understand what size needle is best for tattoo lining, and you’re welcome for further information.