Recently there have been rumors that another Canadian supplier was banned from selling specific brands of ink under allegations of contaminating the colors by repackaging large quantities into smaller bottles to increase profit margins. In turn, they've been blaming the manufacturer in the USA to cover their behinds. They may still have contaminated inks that they are selling off with the remaining colors simply being 'out of stock' rather than being forthcoming with everyone about no longer being able to replenish those brands of inks. If you notice the labels on your bottles of ink have been 're-labeled' or 're-applied' DO NOT USE YOUR INK. This has nothing to do with Health Canada's new labeling requirements for tattoo ink bottles.
We would like to specifically point out that Pricks of the Trade would never put our customers at risk just to save a few pennies and work hard to ensure the that our inks are not tampered with. For example, Pricks of the Trade purchases their Starbrite Tattoo Inks direct from the manufacturer, and imports them directly into Canada from the USA 'as is' - meaning the size of bottle we ship to you is how we received it from the manufacturer in the USA with the original label on it.
The same assurances come with our bottles of SkinCandy tattoo ink. In fact, all of our bottles from SkinCandy come direct with a shrink wrap safety seal with the SkinCandy logo on it to ensure that these are 'SkinCandy originals' and are only bottled in a safe, sterile environment designed for ink manufacturing by the original manufacturer.
Also, Pricks of the Trade is the ONLY authorized Canadian distributor of SkinCandy tattoo inks. This can be verified by checking with the manufacturer in California at www.SkinCandy.net (1-818-567-1848). We do not resell our inks to other distributors in Canada. So if you see another distributor selling SkinCandy in Canada or if you see a price that's 'too good to be true' then it most likely is - especially if you see it for sale at below manufacturer's cost. Also, you should check the labels to ensure they are genuine inks and that their expiration dates are within 3 years of the manufacturing date and that they aren't about to expire - a method known as 'dumping' - where the price falls below the distributor's purchase costs to minimize their losses, rather than discarding expired or soon-to-expire inks in a dumpster out back.

If you have had issues with a specific brand of inks (ie: multiple customers getting reactions) contact your local Health Authority. It may not be your fault - it may be up the supply chain - and more than likely it isn't the American manufacturer. Your local Health Authority will investigate on your behalf.

 

Pricks of the Trade is now the Canadian Distributor of Borg Tattoo machines of Massachusetts, USA. Made by Brandon and Andrew Borg, each precision crafted machine is cut from a single piece of metal. How does that benefit you? This ensures that each frame is a consistent match to exact specifications of the design - no crooked welds, no misaligned bends and no impossible to correct angles of many of the bolted together frames. That way each machine performs as it was intended - rather than 'as good as it was assembled'. The coils are hand spun on premise without the use of plastic bobbins and the selection of steel and aluminum weighs in at 6.7 ounces and 5.5 ounces respectively.

A Quick Lesson About Tattoo Machine Lingo - 'Hand Made Machines':

Here's a question we get asked all the time:
"Somebody is selling hand made tattoo machines for $100 - $180. Why is it such a good deal for a hand made machine?"

Answer:
All tattoo machines are 'hand made' - meaning there's no such thing as a robot building machines from scratch. Even the $40 bent steel machines are 'hand made'. Some unscrupulous distributors are starting to sell machines and advertising them as 'hand made', and selling them at a premium price which you would pay for a REAL handmade machine from an artisan builder. In effect they are telling the truth (it's 'assembled by hand'), but what can mean behind the scenes is that they're assembled 'by hand' by some 18 year old boy on a production line in China who has no real knowledge of machine performance. Many of the new frame styles, and patterned metals (the 'Damascus steel' frames) are often in effect medium grade tattoo machines made overseas that look great (wow - nice 'n shiny) but in reality are just another chinese machine - what you need to understand though, is that these are not hand crafted machines made by artisan machine builders or tattoo artists - these are simply hand made in a factory overseas by someone that has no idea how a machine works, how it should be properly constructed, only that once it's completed the armature bar needs to be able to go up and down when you step on the footpedal.
That's not to say that they are a bad deal - some of those machines perform quite well, depending on what your expectations are. But when someone is selling you a chinese machine and passing it off as 'hand made' you should take this into consideration on whether this is a distributor that will deal with you with integrity.

As part of our Spring Special all SkinCandy inks are now 10% off until June 30! This includes ALL SkinCandy product lines including:

SkinCandy Bloodline Inks

SkinCandy Realistic Portrait Series

SkinCandy Greywash and Black Series

SkinCandy Regular Product Lines

Call toll free 1-877-977-4257 to order your supplies and when you ask for SkinCandy we'll knock 10% 'at the till' from your ink purchase.

1" plastic grips box of 50 pcs - $27.50

1" rubber grips box of 50 - $32.50

3/4" rubber grips box of 50 - $32.50

Disposable tubes (without grip) box of 50 - $15

Click here for our selection of disposable plastic and rubber grips >>

Please be sure to include your studio name on first time web orders for verification of your business. This makes our job a lot easier for ensuring our products are only sold to professional tattoo artists. In instances where this information is missed on the purchase form, we do not process your order until we are able to contact you and verify your studio information - this can seriously delay your order by up to a few days while we wait to hear back from you.