Buying Ink by the Capsule

Nothing is too small to escape the nanny-stater’s gaze — even tattoo ink, which is set to come under intense regulation in New York:

Cuomo signed the bill, which forces tattoo artists to use only single-use ink capsules, in August—but apparently failed to consult a single tattoo artist before doing so.

A major concern for tattoo artists is perfecting their ink mixtures. One New York City artist told Gothamist that professionals “spend their entire career seeking pigments and perfecting recipes for ink.”

The regulation would force the tattoo parlors to buy mass-produced single-use capsules, taking the artistry out of the industry, critics say.

According to the petition, “single use, prepackaged inks” are “incredibly expensive and not offered by any of the better quality brands of ink.” The prepackaged inks are also only available in certain pigments.

At one point the story says Governor Cuomo has already signed the bill, but elsewhere it says that there’s still time to change the language of the bill.

Which is it? Not even a New York tattoo artist knows for sure.