Technology in Tattooing: Now and What the Future Holds - Research Paper Example

Table of Content 0 Early Tattooing Methods 2 2.0 Current technology Tattooing machines 2 3.0 Evolution in Tattooing4 4.0 Future of Tattooing 5 4.1 Semi-permanent Tattoos 5 4.2 Are Tattoos Vaccinations of the Future? 6 5.0 Conclusion 7 1.0 Early Tattooing Methods For thousands of years, different cultures have been the source of a great assortment of tattooing methodology. This practice was carried out in both the North and South America. There was a routine tattooing of the face and body through bare pricking by many Indian tribes and in California, some tribes put in color into pricks (Steward 98). For many Arctic and Subarctic tribes especially Inuit, and also individuals in Eastern Siberia, needle perforations were made and a string covered with color, mostly soot, was pulled through beneath the skin. In Micronesia and Polynesia, a small rake-shaped tool was used to scratch color into the skin by tapping on it (Weller 118). The Maori citizenry of New Zealand that are renowned for their tattooing employed their wood carving methods in tattooing. They had a moko style where shallow and pigmented furrows in complex and distinctive patterns made on the behind and face through hitting a little bone-cutting tool into the skin. In the 1700s, after the arrival of the Europeans, the Maori started utilizing metal brought by the settlers for a more formal way of puncture tattooing (Sills 167). 2.0 Current technology Tattooing machines Not considering the motives behind tattooing in the past, the methods that were used for applying tattoos were quite very unlike what they are currently. The main tools used to apply tattoos in the past were quite rudimentary (Sanders 75). The art of tattooing was once viewed as detestable and dreadful in the west but has however in the recent years enjoyed a large amount of popularity in our own culture. Today, wherever you look, you see signs that individuals from all walks of life are now appreciative and exercise the art of tattooing (Rivilis 213). There is a variety of machines used, shaders and liners being the most common from a technological point of view. Mechanically, there are linear/rotary machines, pneumatic and coil tattoo machines (Nagle 134). Linear tattoo machines are used to put ink into the skin in one go to make a dominant line. It utilizes a short reach circuit of between 1.5mm-2.2mm which makes it move quicker. Coil tattoo machines are the most prevailing ones. An electromagnetic circuit is used to move a needle grouping. There is a broad variety ranging from single-coiled to triple-coiled machines. They can vary in materials, shapes and sizes. The standard types are the dual-coiled machines. The normal range is 8 to 10 wrap. These coils produce resistance hence governing the machines’ speed and power properly inducing less harm to the skin (Levy 201). The first pneumatic tattoo machine was invented by Carson Hill, a tattoo artist, in the year 2000. A pneumatic tattoo machine runs on an air compressor and is very light. Pressurized air is used to run pneumatic tattoo machines and move the needles up and down (Kuwahara 212). These machines can be wholly sterilized in that the entire machine can be placed in the autoclave and be fully sterilized with no major disassembly. This is different from conventional coil machines that necessitate complete disassembly before placement in an autoclave. Shader tattoo machines are normally used to fill in black or black-variants ink. In these machines, color is used and their degree of saturation is low (Green 121). They cycle slower than the linear since they use a bigger contact gap of about 2mm-3.5mm. These machines are also used for shaping lines and some artists will use them for all lines since they permit lines to be reconstructed with less harm to the skin. 3.0 Evolution in Tattooing A computer graphics artist named Loc Zimmerman created a program that can enable one to preview what they would look like with a tattoo on their body. This program scans an individual’s whole body and captures body symmetries to accurately show a 2-D pattern on a body’s 3-D canvass. However, the short-coming is that computer models don’t really depict aging or wrinkling whereas in reality little pattern lines and details close to each other do have the chance of getting lost into each other as ink spreads with aging of our bodies (Jennifer). Source: http://www.tuvie.com/wp-content/uploads/cg_tattoo_zimmerman2.jpg 4.0 Future of Tattooing 4.1 Semi-permanent Tattoos It requires a big commitment to get inked. Whether you cautiously select a significant design or get one in a drunken stupor, tattoos are intended to be permanent. To successfully get rid of one requires laser surgery which is expensive and involves multiple procedures. Based on the costly nature of that, most individuals decide to live with a tattoo they have outgrown or prefer not to get one at all (Weller 118). However, permanent, easily removable and safe tattoo inks produced from diminutive microcapsules of natural pigments have now been engineered by scientists at Brown University, Harvard Medical School and Duke University. According to researchers, these inks can be removed in a single laser treatment and aid in reduction of allergic reactions plus other health problems normally associated with traditional inks (Sills 67). Rox Anderson, a professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School says, “What led to this was a frustration from seeing people who had tattoos that couldn't be removed, or were hurting their health. I saw a patient a few years back, this woman who had a red lip-liner tattoo, and she had such an allergic reaction that the swelling in the mouth was such that she couldn't eat, and we had to surgically remove her lips. Seeing someone whose life was basically ruined by that got me going.” (technologyreview.com) The tattoo industry is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and depending on the tattoo artist mixing the colors inks can therefore contain chemicals and heavy metals. The same inks used in paints and printing are frequently used in tattooing and some of these inks may be carcinogenic (Sanders 95). Though most individuals experience no adverse results from tattoos, there are those that get increased sensitivity to light, inflammation or other health problems. Anderson’s first aim was to get safe biocompatible pigments to combat these effects. He has up to date designed yellow and orange pigments from beta-carotene and black and brown pigments from iron oxide and carbon. They all are nontoxic and natural substances. To fashion other shades, Anderson is trying out food dyes. He however discovered that merely applying the pigments onto the skin directly is not permanent since after several days colors tend to fade away. He wanted to figure out a way to prevent absorption of the pigments by the body (Rivilis 193). 4.2 Are Tattoos Vaccinations of the Future? Instead of the idealistic injection into muscle, German scientists are carrying out research on the possibility of administering new generation experimental DNA vaccines efficaciously using tattoos (Nagle 147). Lab mice were used by these scientists to present fragments of DNA so as to induce an immune reaction. This is a promising means of creating improved vaccines for everything from flu to cancer. The concept has however until now been handicapped by its low efficiency. According to Martin Mueller from German Cancer Research Center, administration of DNA through tattooing could be a means for widespread commercial use of DNA vaccines. Genetic Vaccine and Therapy, an online open access journal published the research. Without using ink, Mueller and his co-workers tried tattooing through vaccinating mice that had a protein fragment of human papillomavirus (HPV) which is a sexually transmitted cervical cancer causing virus (Levy 181). According to Reuters, they observed that three doses of DNA vaccine administered through tattooing had antibody levels 16 times higher than three intramuscular injections. Level of antibodies is an indication of the immune system’s response strength. There are presently no sanctioned DNA vaccines on the market. However, various drug companies are presently looking into their alternatives via investment in new technology and clinical trials (Kuwahara 172). 5.0 Conclusion Tattoos are embedded in living skin and therefore making tattooing unique amidst all other art forms. Tattooing is one of mankind’s most ancient practices and is among the few traditions that have pulled through into the modern world. The transformations in society and technology have altered and influenced the art of tattooing but its substance and permanence have continuously been a source of great interest for individuals worldwide. The uniqueness of tattooing as an art has been a major contribution to its continued survival from the prehistoric times to the present times. . Works Cited Green, Terisa. The Tattoo Encyclopedia: a Guide to Choosing Your Tattoo. New York: Touchstone, 2010. Print. Jennifer, Chu. "Semipermanent Tattoos - Technology Review." Retrieved on 27 Apr. 2012 from http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/19046/ Kuwahara, Makiko. Tattoo: an Anthropology. English Ed. New York: Berg, 2005. Print Levy, Janey. Tattoos in Modern Society. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2008. Print. Nagle, Jeanne M. Tattoo Artists. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2008. Print. Rivilis, Michael. Tattoo U: 500 Designs for Anywhere On Your Body. New York: Sterling Innovation, 2009. Print Sanders, Clinton R. Customizing the Body: the Art and Culture of Tattooing. Rev. and expanded. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2008. Print. Sills, Kenny. Tattoo - A Beautiful Sin. Athens: CreateSpace, 2012. Print. Steward, Samuel M. Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos: a Social History of the Tattoo with Gangs, Sailors, and Street-Corner Punks, 1950-1965. New York: Routledge, 1990. Print. Weller, Alan. Tattoo Art. London: Dover Publications, 2009. Print. Read More