Here's How Getting A Tattoo Works In Slow Motion

In case you didn't know, some needles jam into you over and over again.

Destin at SmarterEveryDay has taken it upon himself to show you how a tattoo machine works.

View this video on YouTube

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This is a rotary machine – it's powered by a motor. As Destin explains, the ink's held between the multiple points, and when they puncture the skin, it drags the ink down into the dermis.

You can have different numbers of needles according to what type of design you're having. The rotations of the motor transform into up-and-down motion on the needle. Coil machines (on the right), by contrast, use an electromagnet with a circuit that is repeatedly broken.

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