THE iMAGE ARMORY
Field-Tested Tools • Working Equipment • Artist Selections
Every finished line begins with the tools behind it. The iMage Armory documents equipment, pigments, cartridges and supporting gear that have earned a place within the evolving
iMage Brand Tattoo workflow through actual use.
These are not paid placements. They are independent selections based on my own experience developing technique, testing equipment and refining a working setup.
As the craft evolves, so will the Armory.
MAST TOUR AIR
The Precision Pen • Lightweight Control
The MAST Tour Air represents the lighter, more precision-oriented side of my machine setup. Its exceptionally slender pen-style body gives it a very different character from larger wireless machines, making it particularly appealing when I want something compact and unobtrusive in the hand.
Manufacturer specifications describe the Tour Air as an approximately 45 g, 15 mm-diameter rotary pen with a 2.3 mm fixed stroke, built around a coreless motor.
Those characteristics help explain why the machine feels closer to a drawing instrument than many larger tattoo pens.
For iMage Brand Tattoo, that makes the Tour Air particularly relevant to the transition from pen-and-ink illustration toward machine-driven linework: light, direct and stripped down to the movement of the hand.
iMage Field Note: Selected for its exceptionally lightweight, narrow format and precision-oriented feel.
T&T CAPILLARY SYSTEM
The Preferred Needle • Controlled Delivery
Of the cartridge systems currently used within iMage Brand Tattoo, T&T holds the preferred position.
T&T distinguishes its cartridges through a patented capillary-style ink reservoir inspired by fountain-pen ink delivery, together with needle-stabilization features intended to improve control and ink flow.
What makes that especially appropriate to my practice is the emphasis on consistency. Much of my tattoo development has revolved around repeating fundamental movements until variations in line execution become smaller and more controllable. A cartridge is therefore not simply a disposable component—it is the final mechanical interface between the machine and the mark.
iMage Field Note: Currently my preferred tattoo-cartridge system.
DRAGONHAWK / DRAGONHAWK Z
The Close Second • Versatile Cartridge Alternative
Dragonhawk cartridges—including the Dragonhawk/Z cartridges in my working collection—sit a close second in my current needle preferences.
I've found them useful as an alternative cartridge platform while developing lining and other fundamental machine techniques. Having more than one cartridge system available has also allowed me to experience how differences in construction and needle behavior can affect the feel of the machine.
Dragonhawk currently markets several cartridge families rather than a single universal needle line, with configurations intended for different tattooing applications.
iMage Field Note: A close-second cartridge choice and a recurring part of my working equipment.
THE BLACK ALTAR
Pigment • Contrast • Saturation
Black occupies a particularly important place within the visual language of iMage Brand.
Skulls, biomechanical forms, occult geometry, creature designs and heavily worked line illustrations all depend upon the relationship between black, negative space and controlled contrast.
Two black pigments have consequently become part of my working exploration.
DYNAMIC TRIPLE BLACK
Depth • Saturation • Impact
Dynamic Triple Black is the heavier black in the iMage pigment selection.
Dynamic describes Triple Black as a high-pigment formulation that is thicker than its original BLK and suitable for applications including packing, shading and greywash preparation.
That density naturally complements the darker visual direction of much of my artwork. Within iMage Brand Tattoo, I see deep black not merely as a contour but as an active compositional element—something capable of defining mass, separating forms and creating the darkness from which finer details emerge.
iMage Field Note: Chosen when deep black and strong visual presence are central to the piece.
KWADRON INX — ENRICHED BLACK
Versatility in Black
Alongside Dynamic sits KWADRON INX Enriched Black.
Kwadron presents INX Enriched Black as a versatile black formulated for multiple applications, including lining, shading and filling.
That versatility gives it a different role within the iMage toolkit. Rather than declaring one black universally superior, I prefer having pigments with different characteristics available as my understanding of application continues to develop.
iMage Field Note: A versatile alternative black within the current pigment setup.
ILLUMINATION // SEE THE LINE
Smiling Shark Headlamp & Work Lighting
Some of the most useful equipment in a tattoo setup never touches the machine.
Visibility is one of them.
My Smiling Shark lighting equipment provides supplemental hands-free and close-work illumination around the working area. The wide head-mounted light shown here can provide broad frontal illumination, while additional directed lighting can be positioned to improve visibility where ambient room light is insufficient.
iMage Field Note: An affordable addition that became genuinely useful: see the surface, see the line, see what needs correction.
LIGHT IS A TOOL.
If you can't clearly see the mark, you can't properly evaluate it.
THE SUPPORTING RITUAL
Small Gear • Workstation Essentials • Affordable Solutions
Not every useful studio accessory needs a premium logo or a premium price.
The wider iMage setup includes the less glamorous equipment that makes repeated practice easier: ink caps, cap holders, workstation organizers, lighting accessories, protective materials, dispensers, storage solutions and other small supporting tools.
A surprising amount of this Consistently Needed Equipment can be sourced inexpensively through Temu, discount retailers and similar marketplaces.
I've found that particularly useful while building and refining a working setup without unnecessarily spending premium prices on every accessory.
ULine- Most Recommended for Medical Supplies such as Nitrile Gloves
iMAGE BUDGET NOTE
Spend intelligently—not indiscriminately.
Discount marketplaces can make excellent sense for organizers, lights, holders and other general workstation accessories. I make a clear distinction, however, between those items and needles/cartridges, pigments, barriers or other products where sterility, traceability, material quality or contamination control matters. Those deserve appropriate, reputable sourcing.
That distinction lets budget equipment support the setup without allowing price alone to determine the parts of the process where safety and consistency matter most.
The iMage Hierarchy
MACHINE
DragonHawk Fold Pro
MAST Tour Air
CARTRIDGES
T&T Capillary System
Dragonhawk Cartridge Systems
Black/Coloured Pigments/Inks
Dynamic Triple Black
KWADRON INX Enriched Black
Dynamic/Kwadron Coloured Selections
ILLUMINATION
Smiling Shark
-
Source Safely, Source Securely,
Source Sterile
CHOSEN BY iMAGE // NOT CHOSEN FOR iMAGE
Independent Equipment Disclosure
Everything featured within The iMage Armory represents equipment I have personally selected and incorporated into my tattoo practice.
Unless a feature is expressly identified otherwise, iMage Brand Tattoo has not been sponsored, paid, supplied, endorsed or commissioned by the manufacturers or retailers represented on this page.
Product and company names remain the property of their respective owners. Manufacturer specifications are identified as such; iMage observations represent my personal experience with the equipment.
The purpose of this section is simple:
Show the tools behind the work.
Give credit where equipment has served me well.
Document what I learn from using it.
BRANDS // COLLABORATION
For Manufacturers & Tattoo-Industry Partners
iMage Brand Tattoo remains open to relevant equipment testing, product features, artist programs and brand collaborations where the equipment genuinely aligns with the developing practice and visual identity represented here.
A future relationship doesn't need to rewrite what I already use.
The most meaningful collaborations begin with products that have already earned their place.
CONNECT WITH iMAGE BRAND