For a tattoo artist, an ink bottle comes with more than pigment. It comes with paperwork — or it should. Safety Data Sheets, compliance certificates, lot numbers and expiry dates are how a studio shows clients, inspectors and itself what's going into skin. This glossary explains the documents and terms you'll meet, and what each one actually tells you.
The documents
- Safety Data Sheet SDS, formerly MSDS
- A standardised document describing a product's hazardous components, handling, storage, first aid and disposal. It's written for workplace safety — how to handle the bottle — rather than as a statement that an ink is safe in skin. Many health inspectors expect a studio to keep SDS files for every product it uses.
- Certificate of compliance
- A statement from the manufacturer that a product meets a specific regulation or standard. Its value depends on which regulation it names and for which market. "Compliant" with no regulation named tells you very little.
- Certificate of analysis CoA
- Lab results for a specific batch — for example, tests for microbial contamination or heavy metals. More specific than a general compliance statement, because it ties to a lot number.
- Lot or batch number
- Identifies the production run. Record it in client files so that if a batch is ever recalled, you know exactly which clients received it.
- Expiry date and "period after opening"
- Unopened inks have a shelf life; once opened, contamination risk rises. Follow the label and discard expired or contaminated bottles.
- Sterilisation claims
- Some inks are sterilised after bottling (often by gamma irradiation). The claim is only as good as how the bottle is handled afterwards — dispense into single-use caps, never dip into the bottle.
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REACH: the EU rule that changed tattoo ink
In the European Union, tattoo and permanent make-up inks fall under REACH, the EU's chemicals regulation. A restriction that applied from 4 January 2022 set limits for thousands of hazardous substances in tattoo inks, including certain carcinogenic and allergenic chemicals and some metals, and requires specific labelling. Two widely used pigments, Pigment Blue 15:3 and Pigment Green 7, had a longer transition period that ended on 4 January 2023, which pushed manufacturers to reformulate many blues and greens.
For artists working in the EU, the practical point is to use inks that state REACH compliance for the EU market, with the required label information, and to keep the documentation.
Label claims
- Vegan
- No animal-derived ingredients — some inks have historically used bone char, glycerin from animal fat or shellac. A vegan claim is stronger when backed by a certification or a document you can download.
- Cruelty-free
- Not tested on animals. Again, look for who certifies it.
- Glycerin-free
- Some black inks are made without glycerin, which changes how they flow and how much they're diluted. It's a working property, not a safety claim.
A simple studio paperwork routine
File an SDS for every product
Inks, rinses, green soap and disinfectants. Keep them accessible, on paper or digitally.
Keep compliance documents by market
If you work across regions or at conventions abroad, keep the documents for each market's rules.
Log lot numbers per client
Note colour, brand and lot in each client's record.
Check dates monthly
Pull expired bottles and anything that looks or smells off.
About World Famous Tattoo Ink
World Famous Tattoo Ink is made in South Carolina and describes itself as drawing on more than 50 years of industry experience. It markets its range as premium vegan tattoo ink and publishes Certificates of Compliance and Safety Data Sheets, including EU compliance documentation, through its site, along with a downloadable vegan-friendly certification. The catalog runs to more than 600 items, including Blackout (a zero-glycerin black), Triple Blackout, Legendary Outlining Black and artist-designed colour collections.
Conclusion
An SDS tells you how to handle a product safely; a certificate of compliance is only meaningful when it names the regulation and market; lot numbers and expiry dates let you trace and retire batches. In the EU, REACH sets firm limits on what tattoo inks can contain. Keep the documents, log the lots, and favour suppliers who publish their paperwork openly rather than on request.
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