Tattoo inks may be made from titanium dioxide, lead, chromium, nickel, iron oxides, ash, carbon black, and other ingredients. Some of the pigments are industrial grade and used as automobile paint.

Carrier ingredients may contain substances such as antifreeze, formaldehyde, methanol, denatured alcohols, and other aldehydes. Among the most popular pigments are those made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a type of heat-resistant plastic that is used to make luggage, pipe fittings, appliance parts, and, when ground down, tattoo inks. These inks are popular because they produce vivid colours.

Carbon black (subtypes are acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar, or ethylene cracking tar. Carbon black is a form of paracrystallinecarbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio.

Carbon black is also widely used as a model compound for diesel soot for diesel oxidation experiments. Carbon black is mainly used as a reinforcing filler in tyres and other rubber products.

Carbon Black is also used extensively in plastics, paints, and inks as a colour pigment.

Without petroleum products for the ink for our tattoos, where would we be?

Where would we be without the Oil and Gas Industry?