Our top pick, The Inkjecta is one of the best rotary tattoo machines out there. It can use a power supply or operate as a wireless tattoo machine via battery pack.

Inkjecta Tattoo Machine Review

*Price at time of publishing; torsion bars purchased separately

The Inkjecta Flite Nano Lite does not contain the unnecessary decorative features of the original Inkjecta machine, making it incredibly light and easy to handle. It’s our top pick for beginner and seasoned tattoo artists.

Video Transcription: Inkjecta Tattoo Machine Review

All right. So this is the inkjecta flite nano the light version that doesn't have any of the bells and whistles that you get on the, the normal inkjecta nano, which are kind of unnecessary. Like you get like an L E D light on the Centerra and some cool rubber bumpers on the side, which doesn't really do anything to your tattoos. So I just got the light version. The box was a little bit scratched, but nothing damage with the machine. It was just yeah. On the inside of the box. So that's cool. So yeah, when I open it, um, first thing I noticed is that this is really light. You know, this is only according to the website, 62 grams or 2.2 ounces and feels, it feels like nothing. You know, it's so light in your hand is really cool. I love how it's got this, where the RCA cord goes in. It's uh, tilted out on an angle. So if you're still rocking a, a clip cord, you know, it's, uh, it's gonna sit really nice in your hand. So I'll just put a bar on it real quick, just to show you 

Yeah, it's really comfortable and you can barely feel that it's there. It's almost the, uh, the disposable grip is almost as heavy as the machine. It feels like, but yeah, it's super light and it's really good. You know, the, the, cause the cord sort of comes out and angle, the old ones used to come out straight, which was, uh, didn sort of feel the best one was attached to your hand. So when it was sitting on your hand as well, if you get the, uh, disposable battery packs, that'll come out the top really nicely. It'll almost be like a pen machine, which is really cool. Cool. So on top of that, it's got the, uh, the vice grill rip. I love how in the old ones as well, you, you used to have like a little knob, uh, on the top where this one, you just kind of rotate the end and it will tighten up on the grip. It's got a cool little cover on the top as well, which is really nice just because, you know, it protects the, the cam from getting stuff on it. It's pretty secure to, 

Yeah. I do remember a lot of artists complaining that this used to sit really loosely on top, but it looks like they've fixed that and it's nice and tight. Um, I also love how they've got the, uh, you can see on the cam, uh, it's got 3.2, five millimeters. It's really easy to kind of tell what kind of cam you're using, whereas in the old ones they used to only have just those dots on the gold part. And you would have to kind of use that to sort of see what cam you are using. Yeah. Having it written on the top, I think is way better the stroke as well. So yeah, it only comes with a, a 3.2, five millimeter stroke, but what you can do if you purchase these separately, you can get a bunch of other sizes to adjust your stroke. The cams, I think is like 50 bucks or something. 

You get like a bunch of other cams, but yeah, it makes machine really versatile. So you can turn it into a line or a shade or a packer, anything that you really need. Um, which is really cool. And another thing that I think this also comes separately as well, I threw 'em in. So, uh, with the machine come three different to bars, right? So this machine, isn't just a, it's not a direct drive. You can get a, uh, direct drive bar and that will turn into a direct drive machine. But I don't like to do that cause it gives it too much kick. Uh, the one that it comes with is like a semi rigid bar, which I think I really like as well, how it kind of bulbs out at the end, because if it's sort of too thin, then it rattles around when it's inside the grip. 

Whereas when it's nice and kind of thick, yeah. You can see that it basically covers most of the hole underneath, which means it's not gonna rattle around a ton when you, when you tattoo one, which is really good. So if you do, I think these torture bars, like 20 bucks highly recommend getting these as well. If you purchase the inkjecta. So it comes with three different thicknesses. The fat one is like the, sort of the strongest one. And then you kind of have like a medium and, and then a really light one little Allen key plus a, a spare screw, which is really comes in handy, cuz they're so easy to lose. Nice little rubber kind of case. It also comes in like a little card. Yeah. These are all the different stroke you can get. You can get a 2.5, but three, 3.2, five, three and a four. 

So that's really cool. It makes the machine super verse to vaults. You know, you can turn into whatever, whatever you need and even, uh, has the recommended voltages to use. Again. I probably wouldn't, these vaults are pretty high. I wouldn't, uh, start off with 18 volts. Definitely not. If I was kind of lining, I'd probably do like a nine, uh, then when shading I'd probably do like a 10 or 11, but I wouldn't go up to 18 volts. Cause that that'd be pretty crazy. And yeah, in the, once you open the package, get kind like a little guide tells you how to set it up, tells you how to use the torsion bars, which is really awesome. So yeah. The way that you have your torsion bars rotated on the machine, you can have a soft alignment, a medium alignment or a hard alignment. So each one of these torsion bars, depending on how you put it into the machine. 

Yeah. So if you have it set up like that, that's the softest torsion that you can get for that bar. If you have it slightly to an angle, it's me, him. And then if you have it fully horizontal where the lines are facing up, then that's kind of the hardest, uh, tension setting. So each one of these bars has three tension settings. Yeah. Then you can have the stroke, anything from a three to a 3.2, five, 3.5 and a four. So that means that, you know, there's literally hundreds, probably even thousands of different combinations that you can set up this machine. So you can, um, use it to hit pretty much almost anything, which is why I love it so much before I got one of these. I had an inkjecta V two flite and I'd use that my entire career and every tattoo I just able to adjust it. And this machine's kind of the same thing. It's just a bit more, it's nice and light. You can also run it, uh, a lot lower on vaults. So the old inkjectas, you know, um, the V two flites that I had, they wouldn't run on anything, uh, less than a seven, but yeah, these ones 

That's at a, a 10.7, it's going all the way down to nine, eight. They're at six volts now, five volts. Yeah. That's on four volts and it's 

Still running. You'd probably never even, um, have to put it on four volts, but the machine can go so much lower than what the old ones used to, which is really cool. So if you're doing something that's super delicate on it, shin, I wanna do like some really delicate shading on a portrait or something like that, really useful to, uh, be able to take the machine voltage down that low. I love that, you know, it's super versatile. You can turn into a direct drive machine. You can add a bit of give to it, which is awesome. There's so many different customizations. The only downside of that though, is, um, when you've got so much choice about how you set up your machine, you can kind of, uh, freak you out of here. Cause like if you're halfway tattoo and maybe, you know, you feel a bit uncomfortable, it might kind of get inside your head of it. 

It's like, oh, you know, is this the right? Am I have I got this machine at the right settings for the part of the body that I'm tattooing? Or is this the right settings for this tattoo and things like that. So it can take a bit of getting used to, but yeah, if you get one of these, you can use it for pretty much everything lining, packing and shading. It is a bit of a pain to adjust the stroke claim, cuz you do have to use a tool. So you just unscrew the, the, the bras bit. There, it is a bit difficult to take off the cam too. See, I a bit stiff to take off the cams, um, which is fine, but it's cool. We've got like nice little pattern and stuff on the inside there, which is awesome. But yeah. Then you can kind of change your stroke, um, you know, set it up, however you like. 

So I'll just kind of give you an idea of how it runs as well. So once we've got the cam on, screw it back up. Now it also comes with, uh, some Inox lubricant, which is, um, definitely need that's saw make your machine a lot more quiet when you're running it. So just before you turn the machine on, you want to put it a little bit of lubricant inside the grip and that will, uh, make it a lot quieter when you're running it. So yeah. Just give you an idea of how it sounds, uh, once you've got it all set up, I love how quiet this machine is. This is so silent, um, compared to some of the other machines that I've used, that that are really, this is like, you can barely even hear that, which is really awesome. 

Okay. So I've put that on a nine, which is probably what I would use for lining, um, then once. Um, but yeah, you can hear that super, super quiet. There's nothing worse. When you get a machine, you can kind of hear that sort of grinding noise. Like it's sort of railing around the tube. You can kind of see how it's got like this bit that expands in the middle in the past. Um, they, these machines didn't have that. And so that, that kind of stabilizes it inside the grip. So it doesn't kind of rattle around. Um, and which can also, if you, if you, the bar ly rattling around. Yeah. So if it's rattling around at, at the end, it can kind of cause the needle at the tip to wobble, which can really make it, uh, difficult to get, you know, clean, solid line. But yeah, this sort of, um, round in the middle stabilized inside the grip, which I really, really like, so I'm gonna have a go with this machine, gonna do some wh uh, some shaving and some packing I'll let you know, uh, yeah. How it kind of goes and I'll show you the end result. So now we've had a look of out box and we're gonna see how it outlines, um, a simple rose piece and just rate it on power lines, how it shades basically just kinda how it handles. 

Cool. So that's the outline done? Yeah. I'm love how, uh, the flite outlines, uh, it is a bit difficult to push in a 14 round liner takes a bit of getting used to, so if you use the tattooing and you wanna get a fight, I'd recommend staying sort of a Mindlin below just to kinda get these thicker lines. That'll be a lot easier. Um, yeah. I love how you can adjust a give in it. So if you, if you do sort of push, then it has like a bit of give, so it's not gonna, you know, rip off the skin or anything like that. Um, yeah. Handles really well. Wines really nice and solid. So yeah. All around good line. Right. So, and then after that, Cool. So that's the blacks hits real soft. Yeah. No trouble putting the blacks in. So that was great. Um, yeah, so far so good. Next up. We'll do the color. All right. So we're just gonna start shading now.

Our Score

9.0/10

GOOD

Price: $495.99 (6/10)

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The Inkjecta is a pricey machine. However, it is a more cost effective option than many of the $1K+ machines on the market. It’s a high-quality professional machine, and we believe it’s worth the price tag.

Quality (10/10)

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The Inkjecta is a great all-rounder and has a broad voltage range. Black semi-rigid drive bar allows you to have the “give” of a coil machine in an ultra-light rotary. 

Handling (10/10)

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With a smooth performance and the addition of an angled RCA jack, the Inkjecta Flite Nano is easy to work with and has plenty of power.

PROS:

  • Ultra light machine
  • Able to run on just 4 volts for super light shading
  • Customizable with three semi-rigid drive bars and interchangeable stroke (purchased separately)

CONS:

  • While we believe the Inkjecta is worth the money, it still requires a large investment.

Product Details

Weight

62g

Stroke

3.25mm (interchangeable stroke)

Motor

Direct Drive, Faulhaber custom nano technology motor

Voltage

4.5-20V

Speed

40Hz-160Hz

Connection

RCA connection

Product Details

Weight

62g

Stroke

3.25mm (interchangeable stroke)

Motor

Direct Drive, Faulhaber custom nano technology motor

Voltage

4.5-20V

Speed

40Hz-160Hz

Connection

RCA connection

Inkjecta Tattoo Machine - Our Review:

Our instructors’ favorite tattoo machine - the Inkjecta Flite Nano - is great for lining, packing, and shading. It’s also great for any tattoo style - you can turn the volts all the way down to 4.5 for light shading and portrait work, or increase the voltage for thick liners and color packing.

customer demonstrating features and performance of Inkjecta rotary tattoo machine

Semi-Rigid Needle Bar

Rotary machines are easy to set up and operate, they are lightweight, and they don’t require all the tuning that coil machines do. However, the major advantage coil machines have over most rotaries is that they have a certain amount of “give” to them. 

If the artist goes just a bit too deep into the skin, most coil machines will feel the resistance of the skin and “bounce” back. Most rotary machines have a direct drive motor, which means they’ll push all the way down to the end of the stroke length, and they don’t have that slight margin of error.

The Inkjecta fixes this problem by combining a direct-drive motor with a semi-rigid needle bar. Because the needle bar itself has “give” to it, artists have the margin of error without all the tuning and maintenance you’d normally have to deal with in a coil machine.

customer photo of Inkjecta custom storage case
set up manual for inkjecta flite nano ultra lite tattoo machine

The Inkjecta comes with one semi-rigid needle bar, though we recommend also purchasing the 3-pack that comes with three torsion bars, allowing you to pick the “stiffness” of the needle bar and further adjust how much give the machine has.

If you prefer a direct drive system, you can simply substitute the semi-rigid bar for a traditional plunger bar without any give to it.

Professional-Grade Price

We’re big fans of Inkjecta tattoo machines. Their only drawback is the high price tag. While it’s not as expensive as other professional-grade machines, Inkjectas are considered high-quality tattoo machines, and they cost much more than a beginner tattoo machine.

However, we recommend Inkjecta tattoo machines to beginners who know they want to tattoo as a career because practicing with high-quality equipment will make it easier to learn. Additionally, investing early means you won’t have to buy a second tattoo machine later. However, if you’re not sure tattooing is for you, we recommend holding off on a big investment and purchasing a beginner machine, such as the CNC Q2 or a Mast Archer machine. 
Flite Nano Ultra Lite tattoo machine made in Australia
flite nano elite machine with black side bumpers
australia tattoo machine with no start up delay  and led light activation

Inkjecta Flite Nano Ultra Lite: $600

Inkjecta Flite Nano Elite: $675

Inkjecta Flite X1 Wireless Stealth: $1200

Flite Nano Ultra Lite tattoo machine made in Australia

Inkjecta Flite Nano Ultra Lite: $600

flite nano elite machine with black side bumpers

Inkjecta Flite Nano Elite: $675

australia tattoo machine with no start up delay  and led light activation

Inkjecta Flite X1 Wireless Stealth: $1200

A big factor in the price of an Inkjecta machine is which model you buy. The one used in our review is the Inkjecta Flite Nano Lite, which is on the lower end of Inkjecta’s pricing. 

You’ll pay a bit more for the Flite Nano Ultra Lite, because it’s the lightest rotary on the market (45 grams). However, you’ll pay over double the price of a Flite Nano Lite for Inkjecta’s Flite X1 Wireless Stealth model, because you’ll be paying the luxury of working without an RCA cord or power supply. 

Whether the machine is a limited edition, comes with the torsion bars as part of the purchase, etc. will also affect the pricing. 

Easy-to-Read and Interchangeable Cam Wheels

One major change that Inkjecta has made is in their cam wheels. While you will order the machine with just one cam wheel, we recommend purchasing the pack of different sizes so you can easily switch from lining (4mm) to shading (2.5-3mm) to packing (3.5)mm.

customer videos showing cartridge grips and benefits of cam wheel features

Inkjecta has made it easier to ensure you have the right stroke by clearly labeling each wheel on the top, and they’ve made it simple to take them on and off so you can use just one machine for every tattoo.

Who the Inkjecta Is (and Isn’t) For:

The Inkjecta Flite Nano is the perfect choice for professional artists, as well as beginner artists that are sure they want to make tattooing a full-time career. 

We wouldn’t recommend this machine for new artists who want to see if tattooing is for them because it is a large investment.

Get the Inkjecta Flite Nano Tattoo Machine

complete carbon machine ready for checkout

*Inkjectas tend to go out of stock quickly. We recommend checking out inkjectausa.com for additional models.

Other Tattoo Machine Reviews

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Inkjecta Flite Nano Review

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AUTHOR
Nathan Molenaar

Nathan is a licensed professional tattoo artist with over 8 years’ experience working at studios across the globe, including Celebrity Ink, the world's largest tattoo studio chain.

When he's not tattooing, he spends his free time sharing his experience and knowledge with aspiring artists who dream of pursuing a career in the tattooing industry.

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