When it comes to tattoo selection, I've found that having an extensive amount of options to choose from can be one of the most important assets to the decision-making process. It's not hard to see why, as the permanence of the art and it's message, alone, stand to be one of the leading reasons behind the idea that more selection would equate to higher satisfaction. I'm sure that everyone, at some point, has been placed in the awkward situation where a friend mentions their new tattoo, building up the excitement and boasting about how happy they are to have it, then finally showing it to reveal something that inspires little more than the raise of an eyebrow and a few simple questions along the lines of "Why?" and "What were you thinking?"

With art, there can often be a confusion of it's message and purpose in relation to the tattoo. On most artistic mediums, an artist, no matter the skill, may not think to take so much painstaking thought into what he or she wants to put across and, rather than waste stress on exhaustive planning, instead might simply allow for the expression to flow onto the canvas. Understandably, though, when the canvas of expression becomes one's body, it would be in a person's best interests if the pre-production phase were much more involved. And, while it's more often than not that you'll find books full of designs to choose from in just about any parlor, the selection is still rather limited to what that specific shop has available at the immediate moment.

Within recent years, the Internet has made the decision-making process much less stressful with the emergence of various tattoo related websites and databases. Though, as much as these databases help, the amount of different vendors that are available make the benefits they provide somewhat of a mixed blessing. The reason comes from the fact that, while the information and media is now available to anyone who wishes to see it, one may not be able to afford to be as choosy as they would like. Mainly being due to a trend of indecision and uncertainty leading the consumer into sinking thirty dollars or more for one month of access to a website that may not be able to provide what you're looking for.

Luckily, having my own tattoo parlor, I have the perk of being able to check out the majority of what's available and write it off as a business expense. So, after a lengthy crawl through the Internet, I've discovered a few reputable databases that are easily worth what they charge. The first, which will be the review for this post, is not only the site that I have been the most pleased with, but also the site where I feel you get the most bang for your buck: Chopper-Tattoo.Com. After going through the website, I found them to be the most efficiently priced, the simplest to browse and, overall, the most updated. Their service as both a short term membership and a long term subscription is worth the money spent, making it a perfect fit for both the first timer and the ink connoisseur.

From the get-go, Chopper Tattoo offers a flood of tattoo choices, allowing for their members to search through a catalog of thousands of different high-quality designs and art. In their search field, they give you the option of sifting through over 40 specific popular tattoo styles (for example: I'm a big fan of the tribal look and was pleased to find that they have an entire section of work dedicated to that theme). Aside from their category options, I found that their most unique feature, that still stands out from other site's that I've shucked out a few bills for, is their mini search engine, which allows you type in any keyword that your heart desires to find the design that's closest to your personal interests (imagine Google for tattoos). Being a guitar player, I decided to type in guitar and see what would come up. I was not only pleased to find they had more results and variety than I had seen in any tattoo book, but that there were many that I liked enough to add to my own personal "tattoo to do" list.

As a member, Chopper Tattoo allows you full access to all updates, which are surprisingly frequent. Tattoo's in every category are updated throughout the month, every month, so you're always able to find something new to suit your interests. I was wondering how they were able to update their designs so frequently until I noticed that they are always hiring new artists to submit art work and custom designs for the database, guaranteeing the that the flow of fresh work doesn't come to a sudden stop. I was very interested to see that, throughout a given month, the same searches and categories were bringing up different designs I hadn't seen before, which has made it a large asset to my business. Now, on top of having books of art and designs, I have a computer available at my front desk with Chopper Tattoo on the screen, when they see something they like, they print it out and I get to inking.

Overall, by making thousands of different designs available to just about anyone with a computer, Chopper Tattoo provides a new, extremely convenient aid to the tattoo lover and ink virgin, alike. Their vast catalog of work and frequent updates allow for any customer with the intention of finding the perfect fit to feel like their money has been well spent. After considering all options, Chopper Tattoo is by far my highest recommendation, as their service goes above and beyond, helping to secure an expectation that anyone who uses their services will be much less likely come out of a tattoo parlor wearing a regret.

The more I find, The more I'll keep you updated.

To Good luck, and Good Ink!

-The Tattoo Guru-