EIKON TEAM | PUBLISHED JUL 14, 2021

One of the most common questions we get over the phones and in the convention booth is: "Which Silverback Black® is the blackest? To be honest, the answer really depends on you...

Each collection of Silverback Ink blacks is made using a slightly different formula, which changes the viscosity and in turn, the speed at which you can work with it. So depending on your hand speed, style of tattooing, the tools you use and even the area of the body being tattooed, the Silverback black that heals the blackest for you, may not be the black that heals the blackest for another artist.

"Whichever black is the easiest for you to put into the skin will always heal the blackest" - Randy Scott Howell, Silverback Ink

To help you decide which black will match best with your style of tattooing, we put together a little summary below. This way you can compare the characteristics of the Silverback family of blacks (from thin to thick).

Silverback Ink XXX Black

XXX Black goes into the skin as easily as it wipes off. A super-thin consistency that goes in super-fast! XXX Black is perfect for fine lines, shading or solid fill. It's easy to use full strength or diluted for grayscale.

Viscosity: Really Thin
Hand Speed: Super Fast

Silverback Ink Stupid Black

Stupid Black provides increased surface tension over InstaBlack and XXXBlack. The consistency is known for being dense, but not thick. Stupid Black is great when you need to slow things down for hand-tapping, whip-shading, solid fill or diluting for greyscale

Viscosity: Dense but not thick
Hand Speed: Normal

Silverback Ink InstaBlack

InstaBlack is super-dense, thin and fast. Great for lining, shading or diluting to create a wash. It's similar to Stupid Black, but with less surface tension for increased tattooing speed when needed.

Viscosity: Thin
Hand Speed: Normal/Medium Speed

Black TH1RT3EN

Black TH1RT3EN is the newest addition to Silverback Ink's Black lineup and offers a completely different viscosity. It is slightly thicker than Silverback’s other formulations. It has enough body to fully coat the needles, and moves like “black water”, making it easy to fully saturating the skin and easy to clean off your client and your tubes

Viscosity: Slightly Thicker
Hand Speed: Normal

Still Unsure

Still unsure which black is for you? Try them all with the Silverback Ink Black Pack, a set of four 1oz bottles that includes: XXXBlack, InstaBlack, Stupid Black and Black TH1RT3EN. Give 'em a trial run and find the blackest black that works for you.

For an in-depth look at the Silverback Ink line check out their YOUTUBE channel.