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IS STERILIZATION NECESSARY?

DISPOSABLE VS STERILIZATION

BY DG WILSON

When it comes down to it, what do you like? Or maybe it is cost?

Either way the tattoo artist is going to have to pay out. With Sterilization there are many steps, expensive pieces of equipment that we constantly need to check and have tested to make sure they are still sterile. With the disposable tubes and grips (really the only thing a responsible tattoo artist will sterilize) there is none of the mess, steps or expensive equipment. BUT there is added cost for the equipment that you throw away, shipping, handling, fees and the need to reorder as much as necessary.

So what is better? That is a question that will affect different people and artists differently. In the mind of the customer, they all want to see everything thrown away right before their eyes.

The customer doesn't want any piece of what was used on them to be used on another. That way in their mind they have no possibility of cross contamination.

BUT in this days age, where most of our merchandise comes from China, do we as tattoo artists NEED to be more concerned? In the last year China was hired to make pet food and they killed thousands and sickened many more because they had illegal pesticides in the food. Childrens toys by the millions have been taken back by the companies that

hired the China to make their toys, because the toys were deadly to children. It stands to reason that a consumer, a tattoo artist, that buys some disposable equipment EXPECT that the stuff is sterile and ready to use. But is it really? Do they that buy the disposable

tubes and grips need to have them sterilized as well? If they do, then what is the point in buying it?

It comes down to cost for the artist and business. If they don't want to spend a thousand dollars on an Autoclave, then the disposable way is best to go. But it just seems to me that mass marketed, mass produced plastic equipment won't be as good as stainless steele. But it is a pain in the ass to do all that sterilization every day too.

What I recommend is for the new artist to buy the disposable equipment from the cheapest company they can find. It is all going to be the same stuff, the manufactures all charged the same rate so any influx in prices is from the distributer that is selling to you, so find the cheap distributer and use them.

I also feel that every artist should set aside 10 - 20% of each day's income for business expenses. Sometimes when you reorder you buy more than others, so take the extra money and save it aside for real sterilization equipment, namely a decent Autoclave. When you have saved enough then buy the Autoclave and some tubes and grips. Yes you have

to buy them both because the tubes don't come with a grip. The grip is necessary because it acts as a counter weight to the tattoo machine giving you a balance so you can work.

And be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars because each and every tube is about $7 and grips can go from $3-10 or more!

Oh and don't forget to get a tube TIP because if you order just the tubes all you will get is a stainless steele tube the TIP helps hold the needle configuration smoothly in place and the Tip holds the ink in the ink well. With out the Tip you don't have a fully functional tube!

Basically EACH operational tube will cost about $15-20 bucks! So buy a few with your Autoclave and then continue to set aside the same percentage. When you have more money to spend buy a few more tubes and grips and tips.

This way you can add onto your equipment without killing yourself and or going into debt. Also I recommend that you don't get more than 15 different complete tubes for each kind of needle you use. I say this because typically we store the tubes and grips after use until we are ready to sterilize...because we need more. It is a pain in the ass to scrub out and resterilize hundreds of tubes so just keep it down to a minium when you buy.

Let me know what you think!

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