Sumi Tattoo Ink - Sumi Tattoo Ink

Which Sumi Ink Does Eikon Carry?

Two lines, eight bottles and a four-colour set between them, all graduated and all pre-mixed.

Solid's Horitomo Sumi runs four steps: Black, Dark, Medium, Light, plus a four-colour set. It is the Japanese-background line.

Panthera's Sumy ramp runs four tones from darkest to lightest: Dark Sumy, Light Sumy, Smooth Blending, Smooth Finish. It is the portrait-realism line.

Neither is a single bottle you thin at the workstation. Both are systems: you pour the step you want and the value is already there, tuned for this kind of work before it ever reaches the cap.

Solid's Horitomo Sumi, Step by Step

Four steps, darkest to lightest: Black, Dark, Medium, Light. Solid's own description of the set is that it was "designed to achieve the ideal tones for Japanese backgrounds and black and grey tattooing"; that is the whole brief, and the line is named for the artist who set it.

The ramp's dark end does double duty. Solid tags Sumi Black as a black and merchandises it on our black tattoo ink shelf as well as this one.

One honest note: Solid does not publish per-bottle guidance for this line. The steps are named, not specified; there is no published "Dark is about 50% from the Lining Black" line the way there is on Solid's standard Grey Wash Set. Horitomo Sumi is manufactured in 2 oz, 4 oz, and 8 oz; check the product page for sizes.

Panthera's Sumy Ramp, Step by Step

Four tones, darkest to lightest: Dark Sumy, Light Sumy, Smooth Blending, Smooth Finish.

The last two are the Ralf Nonnweiler series, the German hyperrealist's own tier system, and the reason this ramp is the portrait one. Smooth Blending is built for pores, wrinkles and skin texture, without leaving the appearance of dotwork or actual lines. Smooth Finish is the final pass over the lightest and untouched areas, so highlights don't heal back to bare skin.

They complete the ramp's light end. They are not a separate pair bolted onto it.

Panthera is Italian, and these are vegan and cruelty-free. Panthera's shelf is here.

(Panthera spells it "Sumy", the brand's own transliteration of 墨. It is not a typo, and we do not correct it.)

Who Is Horitomo?

Worth knowing, because the line is his brief rather than a marketing exercise.

Horitomo is Kazuaki Kitamura, born in Mie Prefecture. He apprenticed under Horiyoshi III in Yokohama, completing in 2001; that is when he took the name Horitomo.

He is a tebori specialist, the traditional hand-poke method, and works at State of Grace in San Jose. He has exhibited at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and the Japanese American National Museum, designed tattoos for Sega's Yakuza / Like a Dragon series, and wrote Monmon Cats and Immovable.

That is who tuned the four tones.

Do You Still Need Your Greywash?

Yes, sumi is not a replacement. A greywash system and a sumi ramp both build value; they just start from different places, and plenty of artists run both.

Reach for sumi when the work is wabori, backgrounds, or black and grey where you want the transitions warmer. Reach for a standard greywash when you want the neutral or cool end, Empire's Graywash is built there by Empire's own account, and Solid's Black Label sits neutral.

Both live on the grey wash shelf. The coloured grey palette is a different thing again, over on grey tattoo ink, and the whole category sits under black and grey.

Buying Sumi Ink in Canada

Every bottle ships individually sealed, and from November through March we pack free heat packs with ink orders so nothing freezes in transit. Orders leave Kingston, Ontario and ship coast to coast.

Sumi tattoo ink is trade-only: you'll need a Pro Account to order. Both lines come from Health-Canada-notified brands.

Start with a single bottle and see how it runs before you stock the set. The rest of Solid's range is on the Solid Ink shelf.