It is important for tattoo studios and artists to have quality chairs and tables when performing the art of tattooing. As most people know, receiving a tattoo is not the most comfortable experiences in life (unless you enjoy pain), and providing comfort along with easy accessibility is essential.

There are many tattooing chairs on the market today that will not only compliment any studio’s style, but also provide the features necessary for body art. Many people are mistaken that beauty salon chairs or massage tables would be suitable for the needs of a tattoo artist. This is entirely untrue, tattoo specific chairs offer the much need support rests for the arm and feet and quality chair allow the user to modify the height of not only the chairs, but also the arm and leg height.

FabTec claims to be the original tattoo furniture manufacturer, that was developed for tattoo artists by tattoo artists. These chairs are easily convertible to a tattoo table, and include adjustable back rests, stainless steel arms, and 2 inches of foam for increased comfort. The arms of these tables adjust on four axis, from up, down, around or in and out. The legs also offer specific adjustments in one inch increments, making it suitable for the vertically challenged and basketball players alike!

If you already have found a quality chair, and are in need of a table as well, there are tables specific to the art of tattooing as well. A quality table will be no only comfortable, but designed to assist the artist. The Oakworks portable tattoo table is affordable without compromising quality. Priced at $254, it offers a 3 inch multi-purpose foam padding, that is easy to clean. Extending to 73 inches in length and 30 inches in width, it will suit the needs of any size. The height is also adjustable between 24 and 34 inches with a maximum weight capacity of 500 pounds.

So if you are furnishes your own studio, or looking for a good chair for your booth, make sure to purchase a quality tattoo chair or table.

One of the most popular hydraulic chairs on the market is the Encore Hydraulic Tattoo Chair. This is chair made specifically for tattoo artists – in other words, it’s not a general or all purpose chairs, it is a chair made in mind for professional tattoo artists. Let’s take a closer look at this chairs features and price.

Type of Chair: Hydraulic Tattoo Chair
Price: $500 US
Tattoo Chair Features:
- Rotates around entirely 360 degrees
- Has a heavy duty metal base as well as a heavy duty hydraulic pump
- Comfortable Thick Foam Cushioning all on parts
- Adjustable parts; includes the headrest, back and legrest
- Arms can be removed if needed (without any need to mess with nuts and bolts!)
Color:
- The Encore Hydraulic Tattoo Chair is available in black or white
Weight: 375 pounds
Dimensions: Approximately 67 inches in its length and 28 inches in its width

Comments and Reviews:

This is an all around solid tattoo chair. It’s completely adjustable, it’s comfortable, it looks sharp in both black or white – but personally I prefer the solid black look over the white version. The hydraulic pump makes it easy to use. You can swivel this chair completely around with no problem and adjust it to be taller or lower so you can easily access to the areas of the body being tattooed.

Another reason to go with a company like Encore is that unlike some other companies which make general and all purpose salon chairs that can be used for tattooing but aren’t made for it, is that Encore makes tons of tattoo furniture. Encore makes various tattoo client chairs, tattoo artist stools, hydraulic chairs, non hydraulic chairs, as well as flat bed tables, magnifying lamps, trays, trolleys, and more – all made with the goal of making furniture specific for giving tattoos: in other words, tattoo furniture!

There are many different types of tattoo chairs out there on the market, from the all purpose tattoo chair that could also double as a massage, barber, or stylist chair, to the flat tattoo chair that one lies on, to a sit up chair that you sit in to expose the back, shoulders, and arms for easy tattooing.

What are some of the nicer, nifty features offered in a good tattoo chair? Let’s take a look at some things artists appreciate in the tattoo chair for the clients.

1. Adjustable Head Support.
Like going to the dentist, massage therapist, or hair styling, if you’re sitting in a chair for awhile and need to have your head back, you need a good way to support for it. The answer is adjustable head support, so that no matter the height of the client, their head can comfortably rest. The truth is one size does NOT fit all when it comes to the tattoo chair, and having one with adjustable head support reflects this fact.

2. Stable, Rubber Footing and a Locking Mechanism for Safety.
These items all relate to making sure the tattoo chair doesn’t move. One can only imagine the nightmare it could be if a table continually shifted around in a wobbily fashion, or – far, far worse! – collapsed while a client was on it! Having a tattoo chair with rubber footing provides a way to make the overall chair more stable. The locking mechanism in this case refers to chairs that are collapsible or foldable. Having a lock to switch on and off in order for the foldable mechanisms to work is a great way to make sure the chair stays stable.

3. Collapsible or Foldable Parts.
A tattoo chair for the client is a decent sized piece of furniture. A good chair is also not a lightweight piece of junk! This means a tattoo chair with parts that either collapse, come apart, or fold up make it much easier to transport. Just be sure the parts are entirely secure when set up or else this benefit poses a risk (such as the chair falling apart, moving, or collapsing. See number two above!)

4. Tattoo Chair Padding That is Waterproof, Oil Resistant, and Sweat Resistant.
A chair that feels oily and sweaty is going to disgust someone getting a tattoo. Rightfully, no one wants to lie for hours getting a painful tattoo in a sticky chair, even if its their own sweat! This means you’ll want to look for a chair that advertises one its benefits as providing cushioning that is oil resistant and water resistant. One type of material that provides these qualities is PU Leather, and many chairs use it for just this reason.

Bonus: Many artists love having the ability to completely rotate and adjust the chair as necessary. Check out this article on hydraulic tattoo chairs for more information!

But what is the artist doing? Standing there bent over, tattoo machine in hand, giving a tattoo, being careful not to trip over the power supply cable?

I think not. They’ve got a chair of their own. In fact, when someone uses the term tattoo chair, this actually refers to two different types of tattoo chairs.

First, we’ve got the tattoo chair we’ve mostly addressed in our other articles – the one for the client. Usually a hydraulic tattoo chair but not always.

Secondly, we’ve got the tattoo chair for the artist. They’ve got to sit on something, too!

Not surprisingly, these tattoo furniture pieces are referred to as a tattoo client chair and a tattoo artist chair, respectively.

The chair the tattoo artist sits on resembles the types of chairs used by professional drummer and massage therapists. Typically this means an adjustable stool made. Usually it’s got a comfortable mesh black seat, silver metal body, and 4 black wheels. The chair may or may not have any backing to it. Often the artist will work slightly at an angle, and so a back is not used.

As mentioned, it’s adjustable, and this is an mandatory feature, otherwise it could be horribly uncomfortable for the artist over the years using a chair that’s not ergonomically correct. This means it’s adjustable not only in the sense of height adjustment, but is mobile (wheels) and the seat itself swivels, moving side to side as the tattoo artist shifts his or her body weight.

Of the two, the client tattoo chair is far more of an investment (i.e. costs more!) because of the more materials and features a quality tattoo client chair must have. This can be anywhere from a couple hundred dollars on up into a thousand or more dollars. On the other hand, the tattoo artist chair is considerably (and thankfully) cheaper, costing anywhere from $50 to $100 from most tattoo furniture supply or general furniture companies.

So what makes a good tattoo chair?

For starters, the point of the tattoo chair is for the person receiving the tattoo and the person giving the tattoo to both be able to do their “job” effectively.

For the lucky person getting the tattoo, this means being able to remain in a single position for a length of time, sometimes many hours, without being uncomfortable and in pain. So in that sense, the tattoo chair needs to meet the needs of the customer!

For the tattoo artist, he or she needs to be able to clearly access the portion of the body where the tattoo work is being performed. The artist must be able to clearly see the area and have ample room to move their arms as necessary to perform the work. This position needs to be accomplished without straining, excessive leaning or bending on the part of the artist because just like the person receiving the tattoo must sit for a long amount of the time, the tattoo artist must be with them right along the way, the whole time too.

It’s clear then that what makes a good tattoo chair is what will meet the needs above. This often means that a tattoo chair worth its work should be:

1) Have adjustable parts so the relative height and adjustment can be reached for the artist to do their work and the person to be comfortable.

2) Use long lasting cushioning or foam material that doesn’t induce sweating or stick to sweat.

3) Be relatively light weight yet also stable so that there’s no risk of falling or moving accidentally, thus causing any accident or even risk to the person.

So in order for the tattoo artist to perform their work effectively and for the person getting the tattoo to remain comfortable in a single position for hours, it’s vital that the tattoo parlor or tattoo artist invest in the proper equipment. To do so otherwise is to minimize the execution of the artists skills, not to mention it will not be pleasing to the customers to sit or lie in an uncomfortable tattoo chair.