Perforating Pen History

Thomas Alva Edison is considered the Father of the Electromagnetic motor.This was an effective use for the electric motor, but not a user friendly one for extended periods of time. Edison marketed the device, which sold well in America, even after he made improvements two years prior in England (patented in October 29, 1875) by using two electromagnetic coils (a tightly wound copper wire around a soft iron core creates the Electromagnet), springs and contact bars the machine was lightened considerably. The issue of weight must have haunted Edison because he further revised the Engraving Pen doing away with the battery, which would seem giant by today’s standards, and inventing The Perforating Pen (May 7th 1878) using a treadle mechanism powered

The machine was a rotary type electromagnetic battery powered puncture tool; that was designed for making stencils for letters and flyers.The tattoo gun would punch holes in the original document and then with an ink roller fill the puncture holes.
The first tattoo gun was first patented in 1891 by Samuel O’Reilly after a considerable development in electromagnetic powered puncturing tools; before then early tattoo guns were all battery operated. All skin puncture inking was done by poking, prodding and scratching. Then one day he walked past the window of an office supply and saw the Edison pen. The inclusion of an ink reservoir at the tip of the barrel and a change from the straight barrel to one with a couple of right angle bends that effectively moved the motor, and thus the weight, an inch and a half back over the hand (that would have cut back a little on the fatigue when using this device) also the needle bar could now accommodate a grand total of three needles – O’Reilly patented the first Electric Tattooing Machine on Dec. 8th

Tattoo guns were designed to work exactly how it was manufactured, so they weren’t meant to be altered. It drove a needle or set of needles at a set distance, each part that went into the machine only did what it was supposed to. Now the function of the machine is determined by angles, distances, and the relationship with machine( how it’s held, speed adjustment, etc.). This is called “Frame Geometry.”
Now instead of using only one machine to do shading, lining, and coloring there are different machines and needles for each one. The Frame Geometry is changed and affects the skin differently: Depth, power and speed are modified in the process of determining the gun to use.
Until 1929 weight, power source, coil size, orientation, and fabrication material were the only things that determined how gun would be used. Today’s tattoo guns use electromagnetic coils to move an armature bar up and down. Connected to the armature bar is a barred needle grouping that pushes ink into the skin. Tattoo artists generally use the term "machine", or even "iron", to refer to their equipment. The word "gun" is often used but many tattoo professionals dislike it. In addition to "coiled" tattoo machine there are also Rotary Tattoo Machines, which are powered by regulated motors rather than electromagnetic