The Best Liner Tattoo Machines for 2024

 Finding the perfect tattoo machine for lining work with the required features and specifications takes time. But after testing and using various tattooing tools, we’ve narrowed down the best tattoo machines for the lining, which are the following:

1. Mummy Wireless Rotary Pen
2. Mast Tattoo Flip Pro
3. Ambition Flamingo Rotary Pen
4. Rattlesnake Wireless Rotary Pen
5. BRONC v2 Rotary Machine
6. Dragonhawk Extreme Rotary Tattoo Pen
7. CNC-X-WE-1 Pro
8. TATELF G12

These tattoo machines are packed with multiple features, such as a 3.5mm or 4.0mm stroke length, adjustable voltage, a comfortable grip, and lightweight, ergonomic designs.  Moreover, all of these machines comes with decent-quality power supplies and are compatible with various tattoo cartridge needles. Continue reading this review guide on lining tattoo machines to discover your perfect match.

The Mummy Wireless Rotary Pen is a powerhouse of many premium features that a lining tattoo pen should have. For example, a 4.2mm stroke length, a 2200mAh high-storage battery, a powerful direct-drive motor, and fully adjustable voltage. This rotary pen is easy to hold and use. Since it’s a wireless tattoo machine, you can take it outside the studio rather than being bound to a direct power source.

Its 2200mAh battery storage can last all day with a full charge, probably 7 to 8 hours. Moreover, the battery has a fast charging capability, which can be fully charged within 2 to 3 hours. Mummy Wireless Pen comes in two different stroke lengths: 3.5mm and 4.2mm. We tested and reviewed the black version with the 4.2mm stroke.

This is the ideal stroke length for lining artwork, capable of providing a long stroke to achieve perfect bold lines. Moreover, this pen is great for creating solid and delicate lines, allowing you to create beautiful tattoo designs. Furthermore, its powerful direct-drive Swiss motor with 10800 RPM speed is super smooth to run smoothly in longer sessions without heating up.

Moreover, the Mummy machine runs very quietly without creating extra vibration. The machine also allows for voltage adjustment between 5v to 12. This means you can adjust to a speed that is comfortable for you. Further, the Mummy Rotary Pen comes with necessary accessories, including one grip, clip cord, USB C-Fast charging, RCA Adapter, and 1 wireless rotary pen.

Mast Tattoo Flip Pro is a great tattoo liner machine available in the market. It offers seven adjustable strokes ranging from 2.6mm to 4.00mm, which allows it to be used for various styles and tattooing techniques. For example, a 4.0mm stroke is perfect for creating traditional and bold lines, while a 3.5mm to 3.8mm stroke is good for lining and shading work.

 On the other hand, a 2.8mm to 3.2mm stroke is great for producing fine lines and light shading. Similarly, if you want to use the pen for permanent work, the 2.6mm stroke is the best choice. This means you can achieve various kinds of perfect tattoo designs with these variable strokes. Mast Flip Pro is also designed to fit comfortably in your hand, and it’s one of the finest pens we have ever tried. However, its shape and design are a bit complicated. 

The powerful direct drive motor of Mast Flip Pro can easily handle both lining and shading work. Moreover, the motor operates quietly and produces minimal vibrations, transferring smooth ink onto the skin. However, this machine is heavy on the topic of weight, especially the top part. For example, when equipped with a battery, it weighs 268g. It is considerably heavier than other top-class wireless machines such as the Rattlesnake, Mummy, Ambition Soldier, and Mast Lancer.

Another issue is that this machine has only one button, which is used for various tasks such as powering the device on/off, adjusting the voltage, and checking the battery and voltage status. Handling multiple tasks with just one button can be complicated.

The Mast Flip Pro’s battery life is amazing. It can easily last 6 to 7 hours on a single charge. For example, during our testing, we conducted more than 5 hours of tattooing sessions, and the battery still had 10-15% of life left. Moreover, this device allows usage through an RCA cable instead of solely relying on the battery.

Ambition has always impressed us by producing the best wireless tattoo machines. This rotary tattoo pen also has some quality premium features at a very affordable price—even cheaper than Ambition Ninja and Soldier. Ambition Flamingo is built with an aluminum alloy frame, making it lightweight at only 205g. However, the Flamingo is slightly heavier than other top brands’ wireless rotary pens, such as the Mast Archer, Rattlesnake, and Dragonhawk Mast Pen Rotary Tattoo.

But it’s still great to hold easily in hand without hurting the wrist during long sessions. This rotary tattoo machine has an ergonomic design and a smooth CNC-carved shape, making it very comfortable and easy to use, much like an actual pen. Ambition Flamingo is an ideal tool for beginners who want to practice their tattooing skills on fake tattoo skin.

It comes with a powerful Japanese-made coreless motor that smoothly transfers tattoo ink to create solid and bold lines. The machine operates quietly and with almost no vibration. Moreover, the voltage can be easily adjusted between 5v and 12v. Further, the battery of this device only takes 1.5 hours to charge fully and provides more than 6 hours of battery life. A digital LED screen displays voltage and other battery-related information.

Let’s discuss its stroke length. The Ambition Flamingo Rotary Pen has a stroke length of 4.0mm, which is great for creating bold and fine lines. In simpler terms, this pen is excellent for producing artwork with solid lining. Furthermore, it enables you to adjust the needle depth from 0 to 4.5mm. The manufacturer claims it is compatible with most tattoo cartridge needles. However, it does not fit properly with some cartridge brands, such as Big Wasp.

Rattlesnake is a fully wireless liner tattoo machine with many premium quality features that a machine should have. This machine has a custom Japanese motor with a maximum running speed of 10,800 RPM at 12V. From a performance perspective, this motor seems highly reliable and stable, consuming minimum energy. However, the manufacturer recommends running the machine between 4 and 6V for the best motor performance.

Unfortunately, the motor is quite noisy while running, especially at high voltage. But in the lining case, we generally use a voltage of 7V-9V to get fine lines. However, it allows the device to operate between 5V to 12V. Further, voltage adjustment is easy, like a snap by pressing the +/- button. Also, there is an LED screen to show all of this stuff.

Furthermore, Rattlesnake has a 3.5mm stroke length, which is super good for providing smaller needle groupings but needs to be more potent for larger ones. However, creating smooth and fine lines is still good with this machine. Further, this wireless pen is also compatible with 0-4.5mm needle protrusion.

Like most other tattoo machines, this rotary pen is also made with space aluminum, making it lightweight (only 136g) and even lighter than Ambition Ninja and Mast Lancer. Also, its pen is well-designed and easy to hold. However, Rattlesnake has a minimal grip, which seems uncomfortable to hold without wrapping.

Since Rattlesnake is a wireless tattoo machine, it comes with 2200mAh battery storage (also available in 1800mAh). This battery can perform up to 6 hours on a single charge. Further, it has a USB-C interface that provides fast charging, capable of fully charging the battery within 2 hours.

If you’re on a limited budget and prefer traditional-style rotary machines, then the Dragonhawk Extreme would be an excellent choice. This machine features an ergonomic design, is well-built, and has a super lightweight gun, which makes it an ideal example of a classic coil tattoo machine. When it comes to performance, the Dragonhawk Extreme is a versatile machine capable of performing a variety of tattooing styles and techniques.

For example, with its 3.5mm stroke, you can do a bit of everything, including lining and shading work. Further, its design and size are perfect to easily fit in your hand to create precise and clean lines. We tested it by running it at 8.5 volts for lining work. During the test, we found it was incredibly fast at hard-hitting, enabling us to pull decent lines and pack color efficiently. However, we also noticed that it vibrates too much during use.

Furthermore, the Dragonhawk Extreme is equipped with a direct drive motor made in Japan, which is great for lining work. In addition to this, the voltage can be adjusted to the desired speed. Moreover, the tattoo power supply provides stable power with good quality. However, we were disappointed with the foot pedal’s performance, as it was cheaper than others. Despite this, the Dragonhawk Extreme is the best tattoo machine at an affordable price.

The CNC-X-WE-1 Pro is a premium tattoo machine for lining with many high-quality features. Its rotary pen is perfectly designed to provide a smooth and easy-to-control tattooing experience, even at high voltage. This machine weighs 188g and is lighter than the Mast Flip Pro and Ambition Flamingo. However, it’s still a bit heavier than some of the devices mentioned on the list, such as the BRONC v2 and Rattlesnake Rotary Pen.

The CNC-X-WE-1 Pro is unique when it comes to strokes. For example, it offers three stroke lengths: 3mm, 3.3mm, and 4mm. You can use it for various tattoo tasks like color packing, shading, and lining. Specifically, a needle size of 4mm is perfect for creating fine and solid lines through larger hits, especially when using larger needle groupings.

However, it is also considerably more expensive than all the other sizes listed here. CNC-X-WE-1 uses a German-made motor that is powerful in performance and does not produce noise or vibration. Further, it comes with two 1000mAh storage batteries. Both have excellent battery life, 3.5 hours each, which is quite good combined. Moreover, the voltage is adjustable between 5 and 12 volts.

If you’re looking for the best lining tattoo machine at an affordable price, then the TATELF G12 should be at the top of your list. It’s the second cheapest option after the Dragonhawk Extreme. This pen offers excellent value for its price and is a fantastic choice for those on a budget.

The TATELF G12 kit includes all the necessary accessories to get started with tattooing. It includes a rotary pen, fake tattoo skin for practice, tattoo ink, cartridge needles, disposable gloves, an RCA connector, a charging cable, and an ink cap. This kit is an excellent choice for beginners and offers superb value for newbies. 

The pen of TATELF G12 is specially designed to perform any type of tattoo work, including lining, shading, filling, and permanent makeup. The machine is lightweight, easy to handle, and comfortable, providing a realistic pen-like experience. The gun is particularly effective at creating fine, clean lines. However, some users may find the pen too thick to hold comfortably.

Furthermore, the TATELF G12 has a 3.5mm medium stroke length, ideal for smaller needle groupings. This stroke is suitable for beginners to experiment with different techniques. Further, the gun is compatible with significant cartridge needles, and adjusting the needle is easy – rotate it to adjust depth.

Let’s discuss the motor and battery performance of this machine. It is configured with a coreless motor and has a 2000mAh capacity battery. This means you can use it for longer tattoo sessions, as the battery can easily last 6 hours on a single charge. Moreover, it comes with a standard RCA cable that can be used to run the machine without the battery.

Besides this, the motor can run at a maximum speed of 10,000 RPM and allows you to adjust the voltage between 4 and 12 volts. Running the machine at 4 volts is particularly great for those who want to operate it slower, such as those learning the art of tattooing.

FAQs

Conclusion:

The lining is the baseline of tattoo artwork; a perfect tool is necessary to achieve this. This means a tattoo machine should have all the required features and specifications, including stroke length, adjustable voltage, powerful motor, and necessary configurations.

Fortunately, you don’t have to look far, as this list includes more than eight of the best liner tattoo machines, such as the Mast Tattoo Flip Pro, Ambition Flamingo, and BRONC v2. If you’re on a budget but still need a quality machine, the TATELF G12 and Dragonhawk Extreme can meet your requirements.