What is a rotary tattoo machine?

Rotary tattoo machines used to serve only the purposes of smooth black and gray shading, but the technology has been revised such that they can be, and are now HEAVILY, used for all mediums of tattooing and some of the biggest names in the industry use nothing other than rotary machines but these are usually hybrid machines that utilize a rotary cam with pneumatic force by way of an air-filtered air compressor. Still though, some of the best machines in the world still utilize solely a rotary cam that is driven by electricity. There are MANY variants of rotary machines as well. The main thing that sets rotaries apart from coil machines is that they now have the ability to pack in the same amount of color as a coil machine without beating the skin up so much, and this allows for a much quicker healing time and better color result. Additionally, they are practically noiseless which is good for an artist. We suffer from headaches a lot having to listen to a buzzing coil machine all day, so listening to a low hum or something less hard is a nice change of pace. Also, they are substantially lighter than a coil machine and therefore you can work longer without having to constantly set it down and stretch your hand or anything. They take some getting used to since the power output is different for them than with a coil machine and you will have to play around with it before you get a real handle for it. It's for this reason that many artists just don't use them, but once you do and get used to them, you'll probably never use a coil again.