Magnum Tattoo Cartridges - Magnum Tattoo Cartridges

What Are Magnum Tattoo Cartridges?

Magnum cartridges arrange tattoo needles in two stacked rows with even spacing between them. The stacked geometry is what makes a magnum a magnum, and it's what lets a single pass cover more skin surface than a liner or round shader of the same count. Count is built into the name, 5M, 7M, 9M, 11M, 13M, 15M, and up, with odd counts standard because they give symmetrical coverage across the two rows.

Magnums are the shading and colour-packing tool. Soft greys, smooth gradients, colour packing over large areas, and the buttery transitions artists reach for when they want ink laid down evenly without chasing each needle. Large-area work is where magnums earn their place in the station.

The sealed bladder membrane inside each cartridge acts as the needle's return spring. It pulls the needle bar back after each stroke, and a consistent membrane gives consistent recoil from the first cartridge to the last. The sealed design also prevents ink and blood from reaching the pen-machine motor, which meets sealed-system requirements where mandated (check your local health board for specific rules).

The stacked two-row arrangement is why magnums fill in faster than any other configuration. Fewer passes over the same area means less total trauma to the skin, which matters on backgrounds, large colour fills, and extended shading sessions.

Curved vs. Straight Edge Magnum Cartridges: Which Should You Choose?

Curved magnums, also called soft edge magnums, or SEM, arrange the two needle rows in a gentle arc so the centre needles extend further than the edges. That profile is forgiving. It blends gradients without leaving hard lines and it follows body contours like shoulders, ribs, and arms without catching an edge when the surface changes angle. Curved magnums are the dominant magnum configuration in the market and account for the largest segment of Eikon's magnum lineup.

Standard magnums (also called mag shaders or MG) use the same stacked two-row construction but with a flat, straight edge instead of an arc. The sharp edges give you precise control for working against lines, shading into corners, and geometric or defined-edge work where a curved mag's soft profile would bleed past where you want to stop. Less forgiving on body contours, but the right choice when edge precision matters.

The choice between curved and straight comes down to the work and the surface: curved for flowing shading, soft blending, and large-area coverage on contoured anatomy; standard for edge-defined shading, colour packing against linework, and geometric designs. Many artists stock both, curved for the everyday shading slot, standard for the specific jobs where sharp edges earn their place.

Note on terminology: "Round magnum" appears on some competitor pages as a label for curved magnums, this is not standard product terminology. In Eikon's lineup and in industry usage that aligns with Eikon's, "round" refers to the Round Shader configuration (a separate circular-grouping shader for smaller areas), not a magnum variant. If you are searching for "round magnum," you likely want either a curved magnum (for blending and contours) or a round shader (for small-area shading).

Choosing the Right Magnum Cartridge Size

Magnum cartridges are labelled by needle count, 5M, 7M, 9M, 11M, 13M, 15M, and up through 23, 25, 27 for backgrounds. Smaller counts (5M-9M) suit detail shading, transitions, and blending into tighter areas. Medium counts (11M-13M) are the general-purpose shading range. Larger counts (15M+) cover backgrounds, large colour fills, and panels where you want fewer passes across a big area.

Needle diameter affects line weight and ink deposit, and magnum diameter availability depends on the type. Curved magnums are available in all three diameters, 0.25mm (bugpin), 0.30mm, and 0.35mm (standard) so you can choose finer diameters for softer gradations or standard for solid colour packing. Standard (flat-edge) magnums at Eikon are offered in 0.35mm, matched to the colour-packing work they're built for. Count and diameter interact, a 9M in 0.30mm lays down a different amount of ink per pass than a 9M in 0.35mm.

Long taper is the default for shading. It enters the skin with less resistance and less trauma per strike, which suits smooth gradients and extended sessions. Medium taper appears in select curved magnums (Eikon's Red Label SEMs in the larger counts, for example) for colour packing work, the blunter tip holds more pigment at the point of contact, so each strike delivers more ink. Fewer passes for the same saturation, used where the job is packing colour rather than gentle shading.

Artists typically stock a range across counts rather than committing to one size. Magnum count is job-specific more than technique-specific. A 23SEM for backgrounds, an 11SEM for general shading, a 7SEM for transitions and detail, and a standard MG for sharp-edge work each earn their slot.

Top Magnum Cartridge Brands at Eikon

Eikon Cartridges — Eikon's own magnum line covers Curved Magnums (SEM) in all three diameters (Purple/Blue/Red = 0.25mm/0.30mm/0.35mm) with long and medium taper options across the larger counts, plus Mag Shaders (MG) in 0.35mm for flat-edge work. SEM is the deepest configuration in Eikon's cartridge range, 20 configurations total. All Eikon tattoo cartridges carry colour-coded housings that identify diameter at a glance from the box to the cartridge base, even loose on the station. 

Craft Cartridges by Cheyenne offer soft edge magnums with one-piece molded tips that stay seated through cleaning and colour changes, a detail that matters during long sessions where two-piece housings can loosen mid-flow. Cheyenne's soft edge mags are a popular choice for artists who have built their workflow around the Cheyenne system.

Kwadron cartridges provide magnum configurations across their sterile-packed cartridge line, with a breadth of configuration options (50+ across Kwadron's full cartridge range) that gives artists who want options a deep pool to choose from. Kwadron also produces a separate Combat Magnum line (straight-edge, high-count) going up to 89 needles for large-area coverage work like backgrounds, solid colour fills, and full panels, a distinct product from Kwadron's Soft Edge Magnums.

TEX and Lotus round out Eikon's third-party magnum selection. Lotus brings a full 60+ configuration lineup across bars and cartridges, including magnum and curved magnum configurations built on premium Japanese 316L stainless steel at a 99.8% perfection rate. Eikon is the official and exclusive Canadian distributor for Lotus. 

All the magnum cartridges Eikon stocks are built for modern pen-style machines with sealed membrane systems; the membrane acts as the needle's return spring for consistent recoil session to session. Across the full magnum range, Eikon's Buy More Save More program gives 10% off when mixing and matching 5+ boxes of needles, a practical differentiator for artists stocking a full shading range. Each box ships sterile packed and ready for professional tattooing.

Magnum Cartridge Care and Best Practices

Magnum cartridges are single-use and sterile packed. Never reuse cartridge magnum tattoo needles between clients. The bladder membrane and needle integrity cannot be reliably re-sterilized, and single-use is the standard across sealed cartridge systems (check your local health board for specific requirements in your jurisdiction).

During sessions, wipe the cartridge tip periodically with a damp paper towel to clear ink buildup that can collect around the needle exit on large magnum cartridges. The two-row stacked geometry carries more ink than liners or round shader configurations, so residue accumulates faster on long shading passes. 

Store unopened cartridge boxes in a cool, dry location away from direct sunlight to maintain packaging integrity and sterile-pack seal until ready for use. Eikon cartridge boxes are rotated on a 6-month inventory policy, so what ships is current stock.

The finger notch and colour-coded housings on quality cartridges support long shading sessions. The notch gives a stable grip for extended passes, and the colour coding means you reach for the right diameter mid-session without reading the label. Eikon's colour-coded housings travel from box to station, identifiable even loose next to the machine. Magnum shader cartridges work with all standard pen machines and pair with Eikon's full range of ink and accessories for complete session setups.