Besançon Micronora Awards Inventors of a New Tattoo Device
Steven Kauffmann, the designer of an ink reservoir integrated into the tattoo artist’s dermograph, and the precision plastic injection company VP Medtech, both based in the Haut-Doubs region, received a Micron d’Argent for their innovation. At each edition, the trade show dedicated to microtechnologies honors the most inventive exhibitors.
Microtechnologies and precision mechanics, to which the Micronora trade show is dedicated, are present in countless industries: watchmaking and luxury, automotive and transportation, aerospace and space, medical, electronics, connectors, and many others.
One might not necessarily imagine that these technologies could also apply to more artisanal and artistic professions, such as tattooing. However, this is the case, as evidenced this year by the Microns d’Or awards (see below), which recognize exhibitors for the relevance of their innovations. Two companies, working together on the same invention and both located in the Haut-Doubs, were recognized for developing an ink reservoir integrated into the needle of the dermograph, an invention that its designer, Steven Kauffmann, claims “is about to change the tattoo world.”
The Problem of Ink Flow.
“Until now,” he explains, “professionals had to make endless back-and-forth trips between their ink reservoir and their client’s skin, much like when one would reload a pen in an ink well. I invented the first Bic pen for tattoo artists, with an ink reservoir integrated into their tool, the dermograph.” A legitimate question: since the tattoo art has existed for so long, and especially since it has become so widespread, how is it that no one had thought of such a device before? “The technical difficulty lay in the fluidity of the ink, which must flow continuously into the needle,” the designer continues.
“It was this issue I worked on, at the request of a tattoo artist who challenged me. I solved it by designing an automatic valve system that ensures a perfect supply of ink to the needle.”
The Industrialized Prototype at Les Fins.
For his patented innovation, Steven Kauffmann entrusted his prototype to Lamenplast, located in Les Fins, a company specializing in precision plastic injection, particularly in medical instrumentation, through its VP-Medtech division. “In our design office,” explains its manager, Stéphane Gey, “we improved the concept and designed the molds for its industrialization.”
After “at least twenty tattoos” performed with this device, Steven Kauffmann feels confident about the commercial success of his product, with several ranges of cartridges “adaptable to all dermographs and designed to use all needle sizes, regardless of their type.”
He guarantees that the innovation improves the health safety of the procedure, “because the ink reservoir remains completely sealed at all times.”
The inventor also promises “a 30% time savings, better ergonomics, and an improvement in the quality of the tracing,” as the tattoo artist can stay focused on their design without constantly reloading the needle. At 34 years old, Steven Kauffmann, originally from Alsace and now based in Pontarlier, also aims to enter the Guinness Book of Records by breaking records in the tattoo world, which, he claims, is now made possible by his accessory.
Serge Lacroix
