I'm sure some of you have the colours from Eternal Ink on your shelves. But who is actually behind Eternal Ink?
It all started with a man called Terry Welker. Terry started tattooing back in 1976 and after working as a tattoo artist for some time, he bought a small shop in Michigan and Eternal Tattoos was born.
Success grew quickly and he expanded, establishing a chain of five studios in the Detroit area while keeping his shop running and finding artists for his studios.
Terry was already very selective when it came to choosing tattoo artists for his studios. All five Eternal Studios are recognised as first-class studios. Well-known artists who started their careers at Eternal include Jay Wheeler, Marshall Bennett and Bob Tyrell.
As a tattoo artist, Terry experienced first-hand the limitations of conventional tattoo ink at the time. Terry began mixing his own tattoo ink and delivering it to his artists. This was the beginning of Eternal Ink. After years of mixing his own colour, Terry had refined the process and created his own range of ink. He recognised the value of pre-mixed, ever-expanding multi-coloured ink systems.
In 2004, the opportunity arose by chance to buy a small tattoo ink mixing company. He reworked and improved the pigment production. Over the next few years, Eternal Ink continued to grow and expand in North America.
Today, Eternal Ink is not only used by artists in North America, but also by artists from Europe, Asia, Russia and South America. Then came REACH. Like all other tattoo ink manufacturers, Eternal Ink had to adapt its formulation. Eternal Ink promises that the REACH-compliant ink will continue to be of the same quality and meet the needs of discerning tattoo artists.

Good things come to those who wait! With APEX, Eternal Ink is finally launching premium tattoo pigments that are REACH-compliant. A total of 24 pigments will be released and have been extensively tested by Eternal Ink over the last three months to produce the best colour base for tattoo artists in the EU.
So if you like it colourful and are a fan of Eternal Ink, you will be rewarded with colours such as Abyss Indigo (a strong dark blue), Desolate Orange (an earthy orange tone) or Eminence Magenta (a rich, dark pink) and can create wonderful works of art with them.
Eternal Ink brings out a wide range of colours from blue and green to great pinks and reds. We can certainly expect more colours from Eternal Ink for the European market in the future.
Take a look at the new APEX colours now and pre-order them directly from us!

The REACH odyssey began in January 2022. Changes to tattoo colours were imposed by European legislation and shook up the tattoo industry.
Colours were withdrawn from the market and tattoo artists had to rethink their approach. The REACH regulation applies throughout Europe and is standardised for all countries. Additional adjustments were made in some countries. At the beginning of 2023, there were further adjustments regarding the pigments green and blue.
Since REACH, there has been a basic set of strict rules regarding the ingredients and labelling of tattoo inks. The ink manufacturers in particular must adhere to these rules. Many tattoo colour manufacturers have produced new colours in accordance with the REACH regulation and the market has slowly recovered.
Companies based outside Europe, such as Eternal Ink, were the first to launch the colour black on the market. Now, after a long wait, Eternal Ink is finally launching REACH-compliant coloured inks on the market. APEX is now available to all tattooists under strict conditions.