Maybe you could demonstrate how fast or slow your hand is moving with a voltage of 10 or how fast it might look if you were working at 6? I think that would help at least give an idea even though I realize it's preference... regardless you really are doing a great service to the tattoo community and I can tell you are very well loved here! Thank you!
I have been tattooing for 5 years now. It took me around 6 months to find my balance with my machines. every machine is different as well. this is a great cheat sheet for beginners.
Hey, Jono. I just started a tattoo apprenticeship not too long ago (like 3 months), and I just wanted to say thank you for making these videos :) My mentor recommended them to me, and they've honestly helped me so much in understanding where I'm going wrong with my tattoos.
I'm seriously amazed how I went from last week having no idea I would ever touch a tattoo machine in my entire life...to discovering your channel and a friend buying me a machine as a gift, and been practicing on fake skin the last 3 days, and litteraly loving it 😍 I don't need to search elsewhere, jono's videos have everything you need
Very good..Keep at it..I'm still tootering these learnings b4 i open all i ordered.. got ink, t-gun and trans-paper...When i get more, after learning, we will start practice..Good wishes with your venture...
Thank you Jono for your video presentation. I’ve bought my tattoo supplies in the hope of practicing asap. I watched a few tuto videos but none of them pulled a straight line with me. They confused me. I’m so happy I found someone who speaks clearly and explain thoroughly. Thanks again.
@@lwrncjms anybody could be a nigga. Including you. But your acting more like the hard r version. If you don't understand what I just said you're definitely the hard r version.
Dude!!!! I am an aspiring SMP/PERMANENT MAKEUP artist. Succinctly put, each video you put out, I utilize something, even if It's as rudimentary as hand speed. I've always been a great artist, but you LITERALLY are helping me move onward and upward...Your content is CHURCH! Ja bless you!
ive always wondered if i was doing it right im probably a little faster than i should be so i try and slow down but i have learned that if i slow down and turn it up a bit it seems to work better. THANK YOU so much for confirming this for me.
I been watchin ur content for aonth and half as i got a machine and needed to know how to tattoo and ur content helping me along the moat as i have dont 6 on my legs now after practice
I've watched tons of videos to learn about tattooing and you're probably the best I've ever watched. The explanations are clear, the illustrations with the narration is really helping a lot. Now I'm starting to know what I have to work on, what I should buy and what I should've not until today ! haha thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge Mr JONO ! :D
Thank you Jono, another great video explaining very well how to eliminate issues that may arise. I am a welder by trade and there are many similarities between the 2 trades. What you refer to hand speed, I'd refer to as travel speed (same thing really). Machine speed and voltage are huge in welding and tattooing as well. However a pro can pick up a machine set by someone else and really just adjust their travel (hand) speed according to how the line or weld appears. I always love your info and detail you put into your explanation, keep it up brother. I will keep practicing my tattooing and hopefully itll get as good as my welding. (Its much more precise line work required to tattoo than to weld. Much more noticable when there is a mistake in tattoing). Again, thank you!!
The one big difference is that a weld can be good and hold good even if it looks uneven or bad. Tattoos sole purpose is to look straight, clean and good..
This video helped me so much. I've been tattooing for a little over 4 months and have done really well on most of the Tattoos I've done. But there were a few where my lines were patchy and I kept having to go over them and it resulted in a not so great tattoo. At first I blamed it on my tattoo gun 😂 But after a while I decided I needed to do more research to figure out the problem. This video was gold to me. I'm no longer blaming my tattoo gun. I'm blaming my voltage/hand speed. Thank you so much for the information. Time to go practice! 🖤
Thank you so much Jono !! You have no idea how much you've already helped me !! Please keep up with your videos absolutely love them !! Best TH-camr In my opinion 👌
Finally! Thank you so much! Made perfect sense. I got the question at the end too and now know I need to personal adjustment my machine to run at a lower wattage to meet my comfortable hand speed. It seems super simple but even apprenticing hands on with people, I realize I never really understand why I was having specific problems. I owe you so much!
For all the new tattoo artists who have that one best friend/test dummy buddy, literally tell him I’ll tat this on you but I’m gonna try out a few techniques, and try slowing down your power supply and try all ways until you find your groove :) that way it’s not some random client, and you’re 100% comfortable with your buddy letting you practice! It worked for me and honestly all skin is different, and I always compare this subject to my guitars amp,,,,I will never keep my tone the same for every song I write!
He'll yea I just now got to start back up tattooing again but I just need to 2 practice a little bit more a lot more I love tattooing I want to be good and I'm going to get good I've been over 2,000. 2 years but I want to get back up to the top I just need to learn and keep going and keep learning and learning learning get better and get better and practice and practice and practice
Yep, great video! I'm new to tattooing and I've definitely understood your video. Great explanation on the big question bc not everyone is the same! 👍🏼
Amazing video Jono, thank you! about the question, I remember searching for this when I started in tattoing, but I learned in your channel the truth, thank you again!!
Thank you for your work, I really enjoy watching your videos, they are super informative yet short and concise. I dunno if another comment pointed this out but I believe your answer about voltage only applies to rotaries. Coils have geometry and tuning to set the speed whilst voltage will set the strength as the CPS of the machine stays unchanged. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is the way I learnt. Keep it up
Thanks! been apprenticeing for about 6months now, and everything is so super hard, i even have a hard time figureing out when my stretch is good anough, because my fingers really hurt everyday when i come home. And my lines only seems to go in if a put a hard angle on the lines pulling towards myself, even though my 'teacher tells me to do 90 degree angle at all times.. Anyhow thanks for your content, have watched everything countless times. I'm just in that stage where everything is wrong, even though i got all the knowledge also of shadeing techniques etc. Everything is just off looking, but i guess thats why this is so frustrating and hard to learn. :P
I’m in that stage too. Got my first kit about a month ago and been wanting to do this since I got my first tat. Done a few on self and two on wife. It’s hard but it’s gonna be worth it.
I’m at yr 4 now and just now feeling confident with my line work and just now experimenting with bug pins and round shaders, make tattooing your bitch lol keeep grinding
i LOVE the way you teach and break things down for us for some reason i can retain all of youre advice! im beyond grateful to you for making these videos! i highly appreciate you
thank you for such valuable videos. they are actually informative and helpful :) im a beginner tattoo artist and i find your videos very helpful :) thank you
hey, thanks for your videos! how exactly would a tattoo turn out if the machine speed was to fast? besides the skin possibly being scarred, will it also cause the tattoo to be weak and undersaturated? one of my tattoos turnt out very irritated as well as undersaturated, and I wondered if it might be because my new machine was running way too fast. if that is the case, how can you explain that the tattoo is undersaturated although you might expect a lot of ink being pounded into the skin because of the machine running so fast? I would appreciate an answer a lot! thanks in advance :))
Jono Smith honestly great video it was like sitting in the same room while a friend explained it very laid back feel and do you have an apprentice atm I would love to come and learn sometime, but keep up the great work I’ll like all your videos now because you need to be seen by a larger ordinance 👌
i love how well you teach, beyond helpful! but I was wondering what voltage is “standard” or what voltage equals around 130 cps for lining & what voltage equals 100 cps for shading & color packing?
i just found a response you had to someone else about the manufacture’s site having the info on cps & voltage! thanks so much! so grateful for your knowledge lol
You’re ultimately aiming for those figures with the machine loaded. I always tune unloaded because it saves time having to remove the needle bar every time you need to make an adjustment, then when it’s in tune I load it and find there’s very little tweaks that need to be done just to hit the figures again. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo thanks for taking the time. I really struggle with coil machines. So finicky. I have many my mentor gave me and they always run themselvea out of tune. I use rotary for shading and colour, but find lining with them a nightmare. For liners, you suggest optimal speed to be 130cps, is there an acceptable range of variance? Such as 130, ie?
Kevin Newberry it’s so dependant on the tattooist, a cps for lining can literally range from 100 to around 160cps but I find 130cps is the average ballpark.
is there a cps difference between machines? for example : cheyenne vs mast , both running at same voltage , lets say 9V . is it possible that both machines have different cps althought they are running at same voltage ?
Absolutely yes. Nearly every different brand of machine will run at a different CPS even if they’re running at the same volts. This is down to loads of factors like cam size & motor size etc.
If you search my other videos I actually have a full video on this topic that should help you out. It’s called ‘How to Tune your Tattoo machine like a Pro’. Thanks for watching!
I use a fk iron edge with a critical mini power supply and usually keep my shading/liner setting the same at about 9.0-9.5 depending on there skin and have good results
Love your videos! They have helped me understand so much! I do have one question regarding machine speed. When you talk about adjusting the machine speed, are referring to adjusting the voltage on a coil machine? I understand how you to know if your hand speed and machine speed are in sync but what do I need to do to the machine to adjust the machine speed?
It's really true about cheap stuff when I first started I got cheap stuff and I started off not bad then half way through a tattoo my stuff would seem off and I couldn't figure out what was going on until I was messing around with some coil machines and hooking up volt meters and turned out my power supply would start off good then it would gradually drop in volts the longer it would run and over heat u can really notice a difference with quality stuff and constant volts... few of my cheap power supplys would do that some would just drop a little but some would drop out alot 🤔
When I pull a line, no matter how slow I go the line ends up being faded, I shook the ink very well and also used 2 different ones but somehow the ink just won't go into the skin as nicely as other people get. Could it be a problem with the needles? I'm using Rayyl needles going at 2 mm depth I have gone all the way up to 10 volts and it still pulls week to non existant lines (I did this all on silicone)
This could be a number of things. If it was real skin I’d say it’s most likely not enough stretch. It could be something as simple as the practice skin you’re using doesn’t take the ink very well. I know you’ve said you’ve gone slow. But try going even slower and really concentrate on that depth and see if you have any improvement.
@@JonoSmithTattoo awesome thanks for the fast answer!! Sadly it does the same on actual skin... How does the stretch affect the lines? I was going 10 volts pretty slow, like as slow as I've seen people go for 5 v... So I'm a but scared of going that slow... I was trying to find a video showing off the different speeds for the different volts but all I can find is people say "it depends on the artist" so idk lol
but how do you know how many cycles your needle runs for the voltage?? my pen caps out at I believe 8.5 volts per second and I stick around 6.5 to 6.8, but I never knew about cps, or any. I've actually just done a solid tattoo where I didn't have to go over lines for the first time last night also with 6.5 I just am worried about colour packing I have to do this weekend, which is 90 - 100 cycles, and should I just have my machine lower then 6.5?
Hey nice to meet you you have some good stuff you answer all my questions so what does that mean when I'm running a line an the needle keep sticking in the skin when I'm lining is my need infected
@@JonoSmithTattoo retracting what does the mean is my needle sticking out to for I got them off of amazon you have a website were I can get good product for a good Price
Ultimately you want to aim for these figures when the machine is loaded, though I tune it unloaded because it’s much quicker and only takes a few extra tweaks when it’s loaded. Thanks for watching!
Say I have a power supply that only shows voltage, are there particular tones or identifiers to recognize cps or is it more machine and power supply specific.
You can actually develop ‘an ear’ for your machine but this takes a considerable amount of time and experience to gain. So basically when your machine is running at the right CPS it will give a certain tone for the speed it’s running and over time you’ll be able to zone into that specific tone and know if it’s running at the right speed. This is quite an old skool way of doing it though and if you’re not really familiar with your machine I’d recommend using the figures on your power supply to get the right speed. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the reply, that makes sense. I’m curious if anyone’s ever whipped up a spread sheet with some specs and frequencies or even just simple notation ideas. I’ve seen many artist use power supplies that are purely color displays, the radial ones in particular, and think that’s cool, but eeh maybe someone will someday if they haven’t yet. Would be a cool info card to include with a machine at least.
How do you adjust cps with a wireless machine like an fk irons exo? On these machines you change voltage but can’t see your cps. I’m running between 8-9 volts for lining and just want to make sure I’m set up properly. Also these videos are amazing and full of knowledge that just makes sense, please keep going as I for one have learnt so much from you
You can usually find what the cps is in relation to the voltage on the manufacturers websites. Sometime it’s called a ‘stitch count’. If they don’t have it you can also work it out with simple maths. They will usually have a maximum voltage with a maximum CPS. So for example if the machine’s specs are maximum voltage 10volts and maximum CPS 150. Then you’d do this: 150cps / 10volts = 15cps per volt. So with these figures you now know for every volt, the machine runs at 15cps. So 2volts would be 30cps, 3 volts would be 45cps and so on. I’ve just had a look and your machine runs at 160cps on 12volts. That means for every volt it’s running at is about 13cps. So 8volts is 104cps and 9volts is 117cps for your particular machine. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo thanks for getting back to me so quickly!! It does help massively, I’ll get online and have a good look at the manufacturers website and see what I can find! Thanks again you’re awesome
I’ve been tattooing on my own for about a year now. I’ve done quite a few tattoos on my self, and i have quickly noticed how different machines, volts, and hand speed have played a large part I how my tattoos came out. I’ve been jumping around with volts to try and find that sweet spot to match my hand speed (which is is a lil slow) and trying to find the correct volts to be working at. Just seems to be different with each machine and how fast and hard it hits.
Hey Jono! Thanx again for another great video! Question, sometimes (only with round shaders, usually a 7) the needles seems to just bounce off the skin. Lays no ink, and just does nothing...any suggestions? It only happens with round shaders. I’ve tried changing speeds, needle hang, hand speed...... Lining shading and colouring im very proficient in. I’m at a loss. Thanx man!
It’s hard to tell without actually seeing you tattoo. It could be a number of things, I’d probably check your stretch first. Personally I don’t use round shaders. Just out of coincidence my next video coming next Sunday covers different needles and how to choose the right ones for the right job and I do mention round shaders in it. Thanks for watching!
You can actually work out your cps for a rotary. I cover this in another video, if you search for ‘What Voltage? Tattoo Rotary Machine’ in my videos I show you how to do it. The video is a little old looking compared to my new ones but all the info is there. Thanks for watching!
Watched you tuning a coil vid.. got mine running at the 130cps with 50 % duty unloaded. Once loaded with a needle and tube the cps goes down a bit.. is this ok or best to tune loaded? Thanks
First of all well done for hitting the figures! So ultimately it’s best to have it running at those figures when it’s loaded. I always tune mine unloaded because it’s quicker than having to remove the needle bar every time I make an adjust. So I usually tune unloaded, then load it and find there’s very little tweaks that need to be done to hit the figures again. A decent quality machine will not need much tweaking at all from unloaded to loaded but the cheaper ones can send the figures way off. Hope this helps! Thanks for watching!
You are wrong about loaded vs loaded you lose anywhere from 10 to 15 CPS easy when loaded regardless...I have built many machines for example if your shader runs at 100CPS Loaded it will run 85 to 90 loaded.
The best way to practice is in practice skins until you’re confident with the machine and your technique. Then it’s always less stressful to start on your own skin when you’re confident.
So how do you know what your cps is if your power supply doesn’t tell you? My machines motor will do 10,500rpm at 12v but i usually run it at 8.5v for line work and 7.5 for shading but my lines are patchy I’ve tried turning the volts up and slowing my hand speed to no avail quite frustrating
Hi, im practicing my needle depth. When ever i ride the tip, the needle snags the skin. If i try to pull back my needle depth and run a line, they come out weak with little ink saturation. I really want to get over this hurdle so i can move forward with my tattoo work. Can you help? Regards, dean.
@@JonoSmithTattoo thank you jono. Yes im sticking with it. I just did some lines on my leg riding the tip and it didnt snag, i think its partly practice skins..
I'm a beginner and my ink splatters everywhere and it just turnes in to a big mess and Idk what I'm doing wrong if I'm setting my machine up wrong or the length of my needles. Pls help??
Question about CPS. 130 is average. Is that with a needle loaded and rubberbands (coil) or without? 130 CPS fully loaded with needle and tube seems like it would be on turbo speed.
Yes that’s the average CPS for a loaded machine ready to tattoo. Like I said this is an average figure and some people go a lot slower than this and some people actually go faster. It’s all down to personal preference. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo right but you lose up to 15 cps with a loaded machine...so if the machine runs 130 loaded it runs closer to 150 or so loaded...it does matter loaded vs unloaded....
Maybe you could demonstrate how fast or slow your hand is moving with a voltage of 10 or how fast it might look if you were working at 6? I think that would help at least give an idea even though I realize it's preference... regardless you really are doing a great service to the tattoo community and I can tell you are very well loved here! Thank you!
I have been tattooing for 5 years now. It took me around 6 months to find my balance with my machines. every machine is different as well. this is a great cheat sheet for beginners.
Hey, Jono. I just started a tattoo apprenticeship not too long ago (like 3 months), and I just wanted to say thank you for making these videos :) My mentor recommended them to me, and they've honestly helped me so much in understanding where I'm going wrong with my tattoos.
Thank you I really appreciate that. I wish you luck with your apprenticeship. Thanks for watching!
I'm seriously amazed how I went from last week having no idea I would ever touch a tattoo machine in my entire life...to discovering your channel and a friend buying me a machine as a gift, and been practicing on fake skin the last 3 days, and litteraly loving it 😍 I don't need to search elsewhere, jono's videos have everything you need
I’m glad the channel is helping you out! Thanks for watching!
Very good..Keep at it..I'm still tootering these learnings b4 i open all i ordered.. got ink, t-gun and trans-paper...When i get more, after learning, we will start practice..Good wishes with your venture...
Thank you Jono for your video presentation. I’ve bought my tattoo supplies in the hope of practicing asap. I watched a few tuto videos but none of them pulled a straight line with me. They confused me.
I’m so happy I found someone who speaks clearly and explain thoroughly.
Thanks again.
Best Tattoo Academy on TH-cam ! Hands down
Still coming back to your videos years later. Miss you brother. Rest well.
I love how this nigga just simplified what took me a year and half to learn 😂😂 good video
@@Hades-Sired ?
He's not a nigga but ok
@@lwrncjms anybody could be a nigga. Including you. But your acting more like the hard r version. If you don't understand what I just said you're definitely the hard r version.
Dude!!!! I am an aspiring SMP/PERMANENT MAKEUP artist. Succinctly put, each video you put out, I utilize something, even if It's as rudimentary as hand speed. I've always been a great artist, but you LITERALLY are helping me move onward and upward...Your content is CHURCH! Ja bless you!
Aww thank you! That’s such an awesome comment! I’m glad the channel is helping you out!
ive always wondered if i was doing it right im probably a little faster than i should be so i try and slow down but i have learned that if i slow down and turn it up a bit it seems to work better. THANK YOU so much for confirming this for me.
I been watchin ur content for aonth and half as i got a machine and needed to know how to tattoo and ur content helping me along the moat as i have dont 6 on my legs now after practice
I've watched tons of videos to learn about tattooing and you're probably the best I've ever watched. The explanations are clear, the illustrations with the narration is really helping a lot.
Now I'm starting to know what I have to work on, what I should buy and what I should've not until today ! haha thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge Mr JONO ! :D
Thanks for the awesome comment!
This is amazing! A video talking about the proper angle of the needle for different techniques would be awesome
for a rotory gun
When you get a chance show the technique for tattooing white over black. Your videos are awesome 😎
Thank you Jono, another great video explaining very well how to eliminate issues that may arise. I am a welder by trade and there are many similarities between the 2 trades. What you refer to hand speed, I'd refer to as travel speed (same thing really). Machine speed and voltage are huge in welding and tattooing as well. However a pro can pick up a machine set by someone else and really just adjust their travel (hand) speed according to how the line or weld appears. I always love your info and detail you put into your explanation, keep it up brother. I will keep practicing my tattooing and hopefully itll get as good as my welding. (Its much more precise line work required to tattoo than to weld. Much more noticable when there is a mistake in tattoing). Again, thank you!!
Thanks for the awesome comment! That’s a really good comparison too!
The one big difference is that a weld can be good and hold good even if it looks uneven or bad. Tattoos sole purpose is to look straight, clean and good..
I was thinking the exact same thing while watching this. This is just stacking dimes with ink. haha
Showing the diference between pore lines and overwork lines on real skin would be helpful, to a visible diference.
This video helped me so much. I've been tattooing for a little over 4 months and have done really well on most of the Tattoos I've done. But there were a few where my lines were patchy and I kept having to go over them and it resulted in a not so great tattoo. At first I blamed it on my tattoo gun 😂 But after a while I decided I needed to do more research to figure out the problem. This video was gold to me. I'm no longer blaming my tattoo gun. I'm blaming my voltage/hand speed. Thank you so much for the information. Time to go practice! 🖤
I’m glad the channel is helping you out! Thanks for watching!
Thanks you answered my question I have just been seeing like 9volts for lining and it hasn’t been working for me, love your channel.
Yet another outstanding video Jono. Thankyou so much for these fantastically explained subjects in well made, easy to understand videos
Thanks for the great Graham!
I love your videos. You’re such a good teacher. Thank you so much for the very needed info!
Thank you so much Jono !! You have no idea how much you've already helped me !! Please keep up with your videos absolutely love them !! Best TH-camr In my opinion 👌
Thank you! I really appreciate that. Always got new content being made. Thanks for watching!
Finally! Thank you so much! Made perfect sense. I got the question at the end too and now know I need to personal adjustment my machine to run at a lower wattage to meet my comfortable hand speed. It seems super simple but even apprenticing hands on with people, I realize I never really understand why I was having specific problems. I owe you so much!
Glad it’s helped you out! Thanks for watching!
100% you right,
It was my problem also,,,, it depends to person ( tattoo artist ), and machines. 👍
For all the new tattoo artists who have that one best friend/test dummy buddy, literally tell him I’ll tat this on you but I’m gonna try out a few techniques, and try slowing down your power supply and try all ways until you find your groove :) that way it’s not some random client, and you’re 100% comfortable with your buddy letting you practice! It worked for me and honestly all skin is different, and I always compare this subject to my guitars amp,,,,I will never keep my tone the same for every song I write!
He'll yea I just now got to start back up tattooing again but I just need to 2 practice a little bit more a lot more I love tattooing I want to be good and I'm going to get good I've been over 2,000. 2 years but I want to get back up to the top I just need to learn and keep going and keep learning and learning learning get better and get better and practice and practice and practice
You are a great teacher. I appreciate your videos
Yep, great video! I'm new to tattooing and I've definitely understood your video. Great explanation on the big question bc not everyone is the same! 👍🏼
Good luck with tattooing and thanks for watching!
Amazing video Jono, thank you! about the question, I remember searching for this when I started in tattoing, but I learned in your channel the truth, thank you again!!
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
This channel is dope.. really good video again and mostly all the videos i watch from you helps me lot. Thanks for that dude.
Thanks for the great feedback and thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for all of the hard work you are putting into this videos, helps a lot
Thanks for the great comment it’s much appreciated!
Bro , thank you so much for these instructive videos , they're a huge help to beginning tattoo artists like myself.
Thanks for watching!
Your vidoes are fantastic, thank you for all you do!
how would we know what the cps is in a voltage?
Thanks a lot man, I appreciate all the knowledge you share .
I did a flower & it was nice. The voltage I had was 7. I had no patchy lines & no blow outs. My hand was not slow or fast.
Thanks for the tips.
Awesome video man! Thanks for taking my request! I have learned more from you than any other tattooer on TH-cam! Thanks Jono!
Thanks for the amazing feedback! Really appreciate it!
Thank you for your work, I really enjoy watching your videos, they are super informative yet short and concise.
I dunno if another comment pointed this out but I believe your answer about voltage only applies to rotaries. Coils have geometry and tuning to set the speed whilst voltage will set the strength as the CPS of the machine stays unchanged. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is the way I learnt.
Keep it up
Mate I’ve been looking though videos about the needles never got it until I see yours thanks bud
I’m glad they’ve helped you out. Got loads more videos on the way soon. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo 100% best videos out there
Thanks! been apprenticeing for about 6months now, and everything is so super hard, i even have a hard time figureing out when my stretch is good anough, because my fingers really hurt everyday when i come home. And my lines only seems to go in if a put a hard angle on the lines pulling towards myself, even though my 'teacher tells me to do 90 degree angle at all times..
Anyhow thanks for your content, have watched everything countless times. I'm just in that stage where everything is wrong, even though i got all the knowledge also of shadeing techniques etc. Everything is just off looking, but i guess thats why this is so frustrating and hard to learn. :P
Thanks for the great comment. It is a steep learning curve but you’ll get there in the end. Good luck with it!
I’m in that stage too. Got my first kit about a month ago and been wanting to do this since I got my first tat. Done a few on self and two on wife. It’s hard but it’s gonna be worth it.
I’m at yr 4 now and just now feeling confident with my line work and just now experimenting with bug pins and round shaders, make tattooing your bitch lol keeep grinding
Keep pushing it's not a walk in the park not is it easy
i LOVE the way you teach and break things down for us for some reason i can retain all of youre advice! im beyond grateful to you for making these videos! i highly appreciate you
Thanks for watching!
yess, this was really helpful!
thanks much, it was so easily explained as 2+2 ! great
Thanks for watching!
Great video sir I am like your student 😄☺️
thank you for such valuable videos. they are actually informative and helpful :) im a beginner tattoo artist and i find your videos very helpful :) thank you
Thanks for the awesome feedback!
Cheers great advice 👊 helped me a lot your advice
Thank you my friend to that explication,its gonna help me find my balance,am part time tattoo,but i do test on me
Nicely done Jono! Awesome yet again 👍
Dav Oldfield thank you!
Excellent explanation! Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Nice and helpful video.
Thankful. 🙏
Thank u..u r a good cheacher, but how do u know if its poor lines couse of speed or couse of depth or strech?
Nice really good information 👍...
Thanks for watching!
this is exactly what i needed. thanks so much !!
Thanks for watching!
hey, thanks for your videos! how exactly would a tattoo turn out if the machine speed was to fast? besides the skin possibly being scarred, will it also cause the tattoo to be weak and undersaturated? one of my tattoos turnt out very irritated as well as undersaturated, and I wondered if it might be because my new machine was running way too fast.
if that is the case, how can you explain that the tattoo is undersaturated although you might expect a lot of ink being pounded into the skin because of the machine running so fast?
I would appreciate an answer a lot!
thanks in advance :))
Great video the way you put the information across makes this easy to understand , thank you very much keep up the good work bro
Thanks for the great feedback and thanks for watching!
Jono Smith honestly great video it was like sitting in the same room while a friend explained it very laid back feel and do you have an apprentice atm I would love to come and learn sometime, but keep up the great work I’ll like all your videos now because you need to be seen by a larger ordinance 👌
i love how well you teach, beyond helpful! but I was wondering what voltage is “standard” or what voltage equals around 130 cps for lining & what voltage equals 100 cps for shading & color packing?
i just found a response you had to someone else about the manufacture’s site having the info on cps & voltage! thanks so much! so grateful for your knowledge lol
This video explained things perfectly! Thank you 🙏
Thanks for watching!
Your videos are very helpful. I am wondering if you set the cps with the machine loaded with needle and tube?
You’re ultimately aiming for those figures with the machine loaded. I always tune unloaded because it saves time having to remove the needle bar every time you need to make an adjustment, then when it’s in tune I load it and find there’s very little tweaks that need to be done just to hit the figures again. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo thanks for taking the time. I really struggle with coil machines. So finicky. I have many my mentor gave me and they always run themselvea out of tune. I use rotary for shading and colour, but find lining with them a nightmare. For liners, you suggest optimal speed to be 130cps, is there an acceptable range of variance? Such as 130, ie?
Kevin Newberry it’s so dependant on the tattooist, a cps for lining can literally range from 100 to around 160cps but I find 130cps is the average ballpark.
Thank you for your work, you helped me tremendously and changed my life for better. I'm so thankful for that, you're amazing ❤️
I’m glad it’s helped you out. Thanks for the awesome comment and thanks for watching!
Another great video 👌 you done a good job I got 10 PTS 😂
Well done top marks! 🤣 Thanks for watching!
is there a cps difference between machines?
for example :
cheyenne vs mast , both running at same voltage , lets say 9V .
is it possible that both machines have different cps althought they are running at same voltage ?
Absolutely yes. Nearly every different brand of machine will run at a different CPS even if they’re running at the same volts. This is down to loads of factors like cam size & motor size etc.
@@JonoSmithTattoo thx for the answer, and what machine do you recommend?
Mast sai
@@patricknuernberg4580 This is a personal thing. What works for one, doesn't for another.
Mast for sure
Great video Jono, thank you for all the informative video's. You've helped me learn a lot. 👍😃
you've really helped me thanks dude great stuff you gat
Thanks for watching!
Thank you brother for the time you take to make these vids great information..
Thank you for watching!
This really cleared up my confusion thank you for this video and information
Darian Crosby thanks for watching!
Can you explain CPS in relation to voltage? My power supply only reads out voltage.
If you search my other videos I actually have a full video on this topic that should help you out. It’s called ‘How to Tune your Tattoo machine like a Pro’. Thanks for watching!
Sir plz make video of how to set magnum cartriges in dermis layer how to take cartrige to dermis layer how we know sir ???
I use a fk iron edge with a critical mini power supply and usually keep my shading/liner setting the same at about 9.0-9.5 depending on there skin and have good results
Hi Jono! Binge watching your videos tonight, what angle should I be holding my machine at? I use rotary style pen
Thank you so much for this very informative video ❤️
Love your videos! They have helped me understand so much! I do have one question regarding machine speed. When you talk about adjusting the machine speed, are referring to adjusting the voltage on a coil machine? I understand how you to know if your hand speed and machine speed are in sync but what do I need to do to the machine to adjust the machine speed?
It's really true about cheap stuff when I first started I got cheap stuff and I started off not bad then half way through a tattoo my stuff would seem off and I couldn't figure out what was going on until I was messing around with some coil machines and hooking up volt meters and turned out my power supply would start off good then it would gradually drop in volts the longer it would run and over heat u can really notice a difference with quality stuff and constant volts... few of my cheap power supplys would do that some would just drop a little but some would drop out alot 🤔
Yes this is a common issue with cheaper products.
Excellent advice again mate 👍
Thanks mate!
When I pull a line, no matter how slow I go the line ends up being faded, I shook the ink very well and also used 2 different ones but somehow the ink just won't go into the skin as nicely as other people get.
Could it be a problem with the needles? I'm using Rayyl needles going at 2 mm depth
I have gone all the way up to 10 volts and it still pulls week to non existant lines
(I did this all on silicone)
This could be a number of things. If it was real skin I’d say it’s most likely not enough stretch. It could be something as simple as the practice skin you’re using doesn’t take the ink very well. I know you’ve said you’ve gone slow. But try going even slower and really concentrate on that depth and see if you have any improvement.
@@JonoSmithTattoo awesome thanks for the fast answer!!
Sadly it does the same on actual skin...
How does the stretch affect the lines?
I was going 10 volts pretty slow, like as slow as I've seen people go for 5 v... So I'm a but scared of going that slow... I was trying to find a video showing off the different speeds for the different volts but all I can find is people say "it depends on the artist" so idk lol
Your vids are very useful. Thanx!
Thanks for watching!
but how do you know how many cycles your needle runs for the voltage?? my pen caps out at I believe 8.5 volts per second and I stick around 6.5 to 6.8, but I never knew about cps, or any. I've actually just done a solid tattoo where I didn't have to go over lines for the first time last night also with 6.5 I just am worried about colour packing I have to do this weekend, which is 90 - 100 cycles, and should I just have my machine lower then 6.5?
Hi jono, is there any exercises for lining amd shading practice
Hey nice to meet you you have some good stuff you answer all my questions so what does that mean when I'm running a line an the needle keep sticking in the skin when I'm lining is my need infected
Almen Thompson it most liking needs retracting a little into your tube.
@@JonoSmithTattoo retracting what does the mean is my needle sticking out to for I got them off of amazon you have a website were I can get good product for a good Price
Yes but are the cps numbers at the beginning loaded or unloaded
Ultimately you want to aim for these figures when the machine is loaded, though I tune it unloaded because it’s much quicker and only takes a few extra tweaks when it’s loaded. Thanks for watching!
Filipino subscriber here i wish that some day i have a great machines i have only coil machine and thank you for your tuturials
Welcome to the channel!
Thank you again
If the skin is getting inflamed, besides machine or hand speed being off, could the cam or pressure be too much, too?
Yes the machine could be hitting too hard. There’s quite a lot of reasons it can be down to.
find the speed ..its like writting.. with live skin,,love the vid
Always a pleasure,salute!
Very informative video, thanks 😊 👍 🙏
Shiva Inksting thanks for watching!
thanks! this was helpful :D
Thanks for watching!
Say I have a power supply that only shows voltage, are there particular tones or identifiers to recognize cps or is it more machine and power supply specific.
You can actually develop ‘an ear’ for your machine but this takes a considerable amount of time and experience to gain. So basically when your machine is running at the right CPS it will give a certain tone for the speed it’s running and over time you’ll be able to zone into that specific tone and know if it’s running at the right speed. This is quite an old skool way of doing it though and if you’re not really familiar with your machine I’d recommend using the figures on your power supply to get the right speed. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the reply, that makes sense. I’m curious if anyone’s ever whipped up a spread sheet with some specs and frequencies or even just simple notation ideas. I’ve seen many artist use power supplies that are purely color displays, the radial ones in particular, and think that’s cool, but eeh maybe someone will someday if they haven’t yet. Would be a cool info card to include with a machine at least.
How do you adjust cps with a wireless machine like an fk irons exo? On these machines you change voltage but can’t see your cps. I’m running between 8-9 volts for lining and just want to make sure I’m set up properly.
Also these videos are amazing and full of knowledge that just makes sense, please keep going as I for one have learnt so much from you
You can usually find what the cps is in relation to the voltage on the manufacturers websites. Sometime it’s called a ‘stitch count’. If they don’t have it you can also work it out with simple maths. They will usually have a maximum voltage with a maximum CPS. So for example if the machine’s specs are maximum voltage 10volts and maximum CPS 150. Then you’d do this: 150cps / 10volts = 15cps per volt. So with these figures you now know for every volt, the machine runs at 15cps. So 2volts would be 30cps, 3 volts would be 45cps and so on. I’ve just had a look and your machine runs at 160cps on 12volts. That means for every volt it’s running at is about 13cps. So 8volts is 104cps and 9volts is 117cps for your particular machine. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo thanks for getting back to me so quickly!!
It does help massively, I’ll get online and have a good look at the manufacturers website and see what I can find! Thanks again you’re awesome
So helpful!! Thankyou
Wow. THANK YOU!
I’ve been tattooing on my own for about a year now. I’ve done quite a few tattoos on my self, and i have quickly noticed how different machines, volts, and hand speed have played a large part I how my tattoos came out. I’ve been jumping around with volts to try and find that sweet spot to match my hand speed (which is is a lil slow) and trying to find the correct volts to be working at. Just seems to be different with each machine and how fast and hard it hits.
Slow and steady is the best
Hey Jono! Thanx again for another great video! Question, sometimes (only with round shaders, usually a 7) the needles seems to just bounce off the skin. Lays no ink, and just does nothing...any suggestions? It only happens with round shaders. I’ve tried changing speeds, needle hang, hand speed...... Lining shading and colouring im very proficient in. I’m at a loss. Thanx man!
It’s hard to tell without actually seeing you tattoo. It could be a number of things, I’d probably check your stretch first. Personally I don’t use round shaders. Just out of coincidence my next video coming next Sunday covers different needles and how to choose the right ones for the right job and I do mention round shaders in it. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo k man thank you!,, look forward to it
Do the power packs for pen stile display the cps on them ?
This is true for coil machines but how you do with rotaries as the CPS reading is impossible? Thank you
You can actually work out your cps for a rotary. I cover this in another video, if you search for ‘What Voltage? Tattoo Rotary Machine’ in my videos I show you how to do it. The video is a little old looking compared to my new ones but all the info is there. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo thank you so much. Great videos I have been watching for a while. Thank you for all your advice
Watched you tuning a coil vid.. got mine running at the 130cps with 50 % duty unloaded. Once loaded with a needle and tube the cps goes down a bit.. is this ok or best to tune loaded? Thanks
First of all well done for hitting the figures! So ultimately it’s best to have it running at those figures when it’s loaded. I always tune mine unloaded because it’s quicker than having to remove the needle bar every time I make an adjust. So I usually tune unloaded, then load it and find there’s very little tweaks that need to be done to hit the figures again. A decent quality machine will not need much tweaking at all from unloaded to loaded but the cheaper ones can send the figures way off. Hope this helps! Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo cheers mate I'll keep that in mind when I tune again.. thanks
You are wrong about loaded vs loaded you lose anywhere from 10 to 15 CPS easy when loaded regardless...I have built many machines for example if your shader runs at 100CPS Loaded it will run 85 to 90 loaded.
So what voltage do you run your machine?
Thanks this really helped me
Thanks for watching!
What's the best way to practice? I'm doing practice tattoos on myself, and maybe I'm not using the rubber skin properly 🤷🏾♂️
The best way to practice is in practice skins until you’re confident with the machine and your technique. Then it’s always less stressful to start on your own skin when you’re confident.
You are just excellent...
ThanK You I appreciate that!
So how do you know what your cps is if your power supply doesn’t tell you? My machines motor will do 10,500rpm at 12v but i usually run it at 8.5v for line work and 7.5 for shading but my lines are patchy I’ve tried turning the volts up and slowing my hand speed to no avail quite frustrating
On fake skin of course
Hi, im practicing my needle depth. When ever i ride the tip, the needle snags the skin. If i try to pull back my needle depth and run a line, they come out weak with little ink saturation. I really want to get over this hurdle so i can move forward with my tattoo work. Can you help? Regards, dean.
Try slowing your hand speed down slightly and make sure you get a good stretch. Also if the needle is snagging it could be hanging out too far.
@@JonoSmithTattoo My needle cant be hanging out too far other wise im riding the tube. Ive tried everything.
I can ride the tube almost perfectly, hand speed matches voltage. Shall i just stick with this and give up trying to ride the tip? Regards.
@@deansinfield9689 stick with it an eventually it’ll come. The thing with tattooing is that it takes lots of practice, patience and perseverance.
@@JonoSmithTattoo thank you jono. Yes im sticking with it. I just did some lines on my leg riding the tip and it didnt snag, i think its partly practice skins..
I'm a beginner and my ink splatters everywhere and it just turnes in to a big mess and Idk what I'm doing wrong if I'm setting my machine up wrong or the length of my needles. Pls help??
It could be a number of things but the most common is drawing too much ink into the tip.
ur the best
Question about CPS. 130 is average. Is that with a needle loaded and rubberbands (coil) or without? 130 CPS fully loaded with needle and tube seems like it would be on turbo speed.
Yes that’s the average CPS for a loaded machine ready to tattoo. Like I said this is an average figure and some people go a lot slower than this and some people actually go faster. It’s all down to personal preference. Thanks for watching!
@@JonoSmithTattoo right but you lose up to 15 cps with a loaded machine...so if the machine runs 130 loaded it runs closer to 150 or so loaded...it does matter loaded vs unloaded....