Samuel O'Reilly invented the first electric tattoo machine in 1891 when he modified an engraving pen invented by Thomas Edison. This early machine worked by using rotary technology.
Twenty days after O'Reilly patented his machine, Thomas Riley of London filed a patent for a single coil tattoo machine that worked with the use of electromagnets.
In 1899, Alfred Charles Smith invented the modern two-coil electromagnet tattoo machine.
Over the next 200 years, the tattoo machine retained its basic design, but greater artistic precision was reached with the increasing ability to control speed, needle depth, and force of application.
In 2000, tattooist Carson Hill invented the revolutionary pneumatic machine (Neuma Tattoo Machine), which operates smoothly by way of air rather than electromagnets or rotary technology.