Pretty noob question about color packing and lines

Volicius · 20 Jun 2021

Hello! I'm very new on tattooing and I have a very very very dumb question, when you pack color, can you go over the lines? or should you stay inside them? the lines being solid black of course. Do the colors cover black when tattooing?

marked 4 life · 21 Jun 2021

MirandM · 21 Jun 2021

marked 4 life said:
It is good practice to colour up to the line and this should always be aimed for as your freshly finished piece will look sharper, if you do accidentally go over the black line because of an intricate design etc then don’t worry as once it is healed the black will over power the colour anyway, just don’t try to over shoot the line on negative skin as this will stand out.
Personally every time I colour pack I use a 9rs and a magnum of what ever size I need.

Would a tight shader or magnum be easier than a normal one for color packing? I've only done packing so far with a liner but I can imagine tighter needles being better, maybe even using long tapers to reduce trauma (depending on the size of the area of course).

MirandM · 21 Jun 2021

Volicius said:
Hello! I'm very new on tattooing and I have a very very very dumb question, when you pack color, can you go over the lines? or should you stay inside them? the lines being solid black of course. Do the colors cover black when tattooing?

Bienvenido, seeing this is your first post, maybe it would be a good idea, even though not required, to introduce your self here.

marked 4 life · 21 Jun 2021

MirandM · 21 Jun 2021

marked 4 life said:
I most definitely would not use a liner for colour packing, the only exception would be if it was a tiny infill on black lines, the problem with the liner is it can cause too much trauma, shader needles are grouped differently to liner needles, ive been using 5MG1 quite a lot recently on small stuff as you can angle it and use just the edge of the needle for tight spots.

Which is exactly what I did pack, a small area in between lines, like moon shaped. No trauma.
I'll give the 5M1 another try at practice especially for trying a larger area.

marked 4 life said:
Regarding excessive trauma, redness, bleeding, ink been pushed out, it is usually down to poor technique, over working the area, machine running to fast or too hard, incorrect needle selection etc, every machine does vary, I run my DD rotary colour packer with a 3.5mm stroke at 5.2/5.5 volts, I run my DD rotary black and grey machine with a shorter stroke at 5/5.2 volts

That's about the same voltage I used last time with my CNC Q2 and a 9CM.
Thanx.

Volicius · 21 Jun 2021

MirandM said:
Bienvenido, seeing this is your first post, maybe it would be a good idea, even though not required, to introduce your self here.

Thank you! and oops, I though I did somewhere when I registered like, two(?) years ago.

marked 4 life said:
It is good practice to colour up to the line and this should always be aimed for as your freshly finished piece will look sharper, if you do accidentally go over the black line because of an intricate design etc then don’t worry as once it is healed the black will over power the colour anyway, just don’t try to over shoot the line on negative skin as this will stand out.
Personally every time I colour pack I use a 9rs and a magnum of what ever size I need.

Thank you very much! what voltages do you use? I see 5.2-5.5 in you other reply, is this "always" a safe option for a rotary? playing in the scale of 5 v?

marked 4 life · 21 Jun 2021

Pretty noob question about color packing and lines

Free Linework Secrets Guide