A tattoo machine is a hand-held device generally used to create a
tattoo, a permanent marking of the
skin with
ink.
Modern tattoo machines use alternating electromagnetic coils to move a
needle bar up and down, driving pigment into the skin. Tattoo artists
generally use the term "machine", or even "iron", to refer to their
equipment.
The basic machine was invented by Thomas Edison and patented in the United States in 1876
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