Alpha Cartridge Needles – Tattoo Cartridges

The Alpha Cartridge Needles are built from decades of real-world tattooing, designed by BJ Betts to deliver consistent performance across both rotary and coil setups. These cartridges are tuned for stability, control, and clean ink delivery, with a slightly stiffer needle grouping to reduce unwanted flex and line flutter—something a lot of cartridges quietly struggle with.

Available in a full range of configurations including liners, shaders, and magnums (curved and flat), these are made to handle everything from fine line work to smooth shading and solid color packing. Each cartridge is pre-sterilized and built from high-quality stainless steel, with reliable membrane systems and consistent needle tension for predictable results every time.

This is a true “daily driver” needle—no gimmicks, just dependable performance that feels closer to traditional on-bar needles, even in a cartridge system.

"These needles are a culmination of almost 30 years of tattooing, the first 12 years or so of which I spent making needles like it was my job, and if I say so myself, I made a pretty damn good tattoo needle. 
I’ve tried so many different styles of needles; long taper, short taper, tight and loose groupings, textured, bug pin, every type of solder, I took everything I liked and now we have Alpha Brand Needles. 

I learned how to tattoo using coil machines (and still do), but I also use and love rotary machines, so I wanted to make sure the cartridges perform the same as needles on the bar that I’ve used for so long. 

I’ve noticed that while using rotary machines, there seemed to be just a slight flutter and flex with the needles, which causes a small flutter in the line work. I tried different things and found that having a stiffer needle grouping helped the most with that issue and allowed those cartridges to perform just as efficiently. 

I wanted the shaders to be a great, all around go-to needle, great for everything from smooth black and grey to packing solid color."

Boxes of 20 premade Sterilized Needles.

We have not noticed fitment issues with these needles in some of todays most popular grips and machines, if you notice an issue please let us know.

Made from #12 304 stock unless otherwise stated.