Tattoo stencil paper

§1Types of tattoo stencil paper

Most tattoo stencil paper has a carbon sheet that puts your design on the underside of a white sheet, and stencil solution on the skin picks the line up from there. Inkjet stencil paper has no carbon: the printer puts stencil ink on the sheet itself.

Types as described by Painful Pleasures and Tommy’s Supplies; inkjet stencil paper per Worldwide Tattoo and InkJet Stencils.

§2How thermal stencil paper is built

A sheet of thermal stencil paper is four sheets joined together. From the top:

1. White top sheet. The line forms on its underside.
2. Thin tissue, often called onion skin, that keeps the carbon off the white sheet. Tear it out first.
3. Carbon sheet, usually purple, though green and red versions are sold. Heat or pen pressure moves its dye onto the white sheet.
4. Yellow backing. Printer guides differ on whether to keep it or tear it off, so follow your machine’s manual.

Freehand paper works the same way by pressure, usually with three layers (white sheet, tissue, carbon), though shops describe them differently.

The underside of the white sheet goes on skin face down, which flips the line, so lettering on the purple side should read backwards. If it reads normally, the tattoo comes out reversed.

Layers as described by Ultimate Tattoo Supply and the Radiant Colors paper listing at Maple Tattoo Supply (white, brown, dark and yellow sheets). Carbon colors from the Spirit Green and S8 Red listings. Three-layer freehand paper per Tommy’s Supplies. Dye moving to the underside of the transfer sheet per US patent 8,545,613.

§3Spirit, carbon and tracing paper

Spirit is a brand of tattoo stencil paper made by ReproFX. Its Classic Thermal sheets work in thermal stencil copiers and can also be traced by hand. Its Classic Freehand sheets work by pressure instead of heat.

Freehand paper works like the master sheet of the old spirit duplicator (ditto machine): writing on the top sheet pressed dye from a carbon backing onto its reverse. Archivists note the process is sometimes loosely called hectograph, and freehand stencil paper still sells under that name. In Europe the word turns up on thermal paper too, so check whether a listing says heat or pressure.

Tattoo carbon sheets are single sheets made for stencils: one goes under tracing paper and you trace on top. Office carbon paper is a different product, and tattoo suppliers warn against it because it smears and isn’t skin-safe.

Tracing paper is for drafting: clean up the line on it, then trace the final version onto a carbon sheet or freehand paper.

Spirit papers from listings at Imaxshop and Tattooshop.no. Spirit duplicating per the Society of American Archivists; hectograph as a name for freehand paper per FYT, and for thermal paper per Wildcat. Carbon and tracing paper per Painful Pleasures, Starbrite and Tommy’s Supplies.

§4How to use tattoo stencil paper

Start with a line drawing at real size (the size chart helps you pick one): any design in the stencil catalog, or your own photo or drawing run through the stencil maker. Print at 100% or “Actual size” and check that the 1 inch test square measures 1 inch. Our print panel starts with Mirror off.

With a thermal printer

1. Tear out the tissue. Keep or remove the yellow backing as your printer’s manual says.
2. Feed the sheet white side up.
3. Mirror the design once: turn on Mirror in our print panel or in the printer app, not both. Two mirrors cancel out.
4. Print, separate the white sheet from the carbon and check that lettering on the purple side reads backwards.

With a thermal copier

Print the design as drawn, with Mirror off, on plain paper, ideally from a laser printer: copiers read carbon toner, and inkjet prints give weak stencils or none. Then run it through with a thermal sheet, following the copier’s instructions. The line lands on the back of the white sheet already reversed.

With inkjet stencil paper

The ink sits on the printed face, and that face goes on skin, so turn Mirror on before you print. Use the ink the paper’s maker specifies.

By hand, without a machine

1. Print the design as drawn, with Mirror off. Tracing on the top sheet already reverses the line on its back.
2. Tear out the tissue and lay the stencil paper white side up on a hard, flat surface.
3. Put the printout on top so it can’t shift, and trace every line firmly with a ballpoint pen or a hard pencil.
4. Lift the white sheet. The stencil is on its back.

This works with freehand and thermal paper. Putting the stencil on skin is covered in the guide to making a tattoo stencil.

Copier originals per the 3k Instruments TIM listing at Maple Tattoo Supply and the A3 thermal imager listing at Ultimate Tattoo Supply. Hand tracing per the Spirit freehand listings at FYT and Imaxshop. Stencil printer makers’ guides say to mirror the design before printing. Inkjet ink per InkJet Stencils.

§5Which stencil paper to choose

Pick by what you print with:

• Thermal printer or copier: thermal paper. It also takes ballpoint tracing by hand, so one box covers both. Printer types and specs are compared in tattoo stencil printers.
• No machine: freehand paper, made to work by pressure. Spirit’s freehand carbon is slightly thicker than its thermal one.
• Only an inkjet printer: inkjet stencil paper and its stencil ink, if your printer model is supported. The system’s maker says regular ink isn’t skin-safe.

Sheets come in Letter (8.5 × 11 in), A4 and a long 8.5 × 14 in size for larger pieces. Rolls, such as 8.5 in × 100 ft, let you cut a stencil to the length of the design, but some roll systems are built for particular printers. Clear thermal sheets are sold for cover-ups, so the old tattoo shows through while you place the stencil.

Paper types and sizes from listings at Imaxshop, Tattooshop.no and Painful Pleasures (roll); inkjet paper per InkJet Stencils; printer-specific rolls per OZER; clear A4 sheets per Caosnero.

§6Common stencil paper mistakes

• Feeding the sheet upside down. Faint or missing lines often mean the sheet went in the wrong way or the darkness setting is too low.
• Guessing the copier setting. The right speed changes with the paper brand and even the batch, so test on a scrap sheet first.
• Printing scaled. “Fit to page” shrinks the design, so print at 100% and measure the test square.
• Mirroring twice, or not at all. A thermal printer needs one mirror, in its app or on our panel. Inkjet stencil paper needs Mirror on. Hand tracing and copiers need it off.

Copier settings per the A3 thermal imager listings at Painful Pleasures and Ultimate Tattoo Supply.

§7Questions