Kuro Sumi is a brand known worldwide for the high quality and rich colours of its vegan-friendly tattoo inks.

Reacting to the latest EU REACH regulations, Kuro Sumi released the Imperial tattoo ink line, featuring vibrant colours as well as all-new sets for black and grey work.

We had a chat with Zhang Po, tattoo artist and brand manager for Kuro Sumi, about how the company has been developing new inks for the EU, growing its Pro-Team, and what we’ll see from the brand in the future.

How long have you been working with Kuro Sumi?

If you count the time I spent promoting the brand in Asia, it's about 15 years.

How do you choose your Pro-Team members?

I pay attention to the artist's accomplishments and their development potential, especially the influence of tattoo culture and brand loyalty. Of course, if they already have good followers and a name in the industry, that’s more helpful. I also love to find good young artists and give them the opportunity to grow alongside our brand!

What tattoo styles work well with Kuro Sumi inks?

All styles! Normally artists think our ink culture is Asian, so only good for traditional tattoo pieces. But actually it’s not: we have so many famous artists using our inks in all different styles, including realism, watercolour, trash polka, fine art, ornamental, and geometric.
Everyone likes them! Try it and you’re going to love it.

When did Kuro Sumi start working on the new REACH-compliant Imperial range?

On January 1st 2021!

Who else is on the team with you at Kuro Sumi Imperial?

Right now, we have almost 20 artists on our Kuro Sumi Imperial team in Europe. If you go to the Kuro Sumi website, you can see everyone who’s in our Europe Pro-Team category. They are amazing artists, please check them out.

How many Kuro Sumi Imperial inks are there right now, and will more be coming out?

So far we have almost 30 basic colours and outlining blacks already in the Kuro Sumi Imperial line. We also have a Marble Stone set and the Marta Make Fine Art wash set as well. We aim to have another 15 basic colours and 2 more new Pro-Team artist sets coming out soon.

What feedback have you had so far about the Kuro Sumi Imperial range?

As we all know, the development of these new products is carried out in compliance with the new European tattoo ink regulations.  Although we found many problems to solve in the process of research and development, our efforts have not only overcome these problems, but made our new products almost indistinguishable from the classic series in terms of safety and effect. They’re also more suited to European skin as well. We succeeded, we won!

Will you be making more Pro-Team Imperial sets, like you have with Marta Make?

Yes! We’re working on them now.

Can you tell us about your Imperial Greywash Shading Set?

Before the EU REACH laws, many EU artists loved using this set to create their tattoo art work in the shop or while travelling - they just wanted more black and white options. So this time we added one super black and one highlight white to the set, with the original 30 ml four bottle set becoming a 44 ml six bottle set. So the new set has more options, with three wash tones ("Angel", "Saint" and "Sinner"), 2 black inks ("Devil" and "Hell") and one white ("Heaven") in the package.

The new super black is almost the darkest black you can find on the market. Devil Black was the double dark one already, but when you're using Hell Black it can give you extra depth in your tattoo work, and give good contrast even on dark skin. We're using an updated formula for Hell Black which makes it very easy to clean up from the skin. The white has a very heavy pigment, giving an opaque matte white appearance which doesn't easily turn yellow.

Why should European tattoo artists use REACH-compliant ink?

Because it’s cleaner and safer. It also heals better, quicker, and safer.

Will most of Kuro Sumi’s efforts go into the Imperial range now, or will we see new products in the original lines?

Yes, we are trying to make most of the inks from the Kuro Sumi original line into Kuro Sumi Imperial inks, and we’re still working on new product development for our original line too.

In 2022, we focused on supporting European artists so that they had good inks to use. We’re spending most of our time on the Imperial line now, but we will have new products coming out for the original line, probably at the end of this year or early 2023.

Are all Kuro Sumi Imperial inks vegan-friendly?

Yes!

What’s the best thing about your job? Do you still get as much time to tattoo?

Gaining more knowledge to develop better inks to help tattoo artists and the tattoo industry grow!

I need to continue to make tattoos to help me check product quality and develop new products to keep our brand growing. Of course, it’s not the same as before, but more focused on products.

What tattoo equipment do you use most?

In terms of tattoo ink, I only use Kuro Sumi, and the FK Irons Flux Max with 4.0 mm stroke length is the best machine for my work. I’ve also been using Dermalize aftercare for years.

I always choose products and companies that prioritise safety and quality!

Are there any shades from the Imperial collection that you particularly like working with?

I would say all of them! I have a heavy style in my usual work, but I need to do all styles in general, so I need to use all the colours.

Do you have free time to oil paint these days?

That's a must!  Because art is the foundation of tattoo art, you can only create better tattoo art by continuously improving your own artistic accomplishments and skills.

How has the industry changed since you started tattooing?

The tattoo industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years.  Whether it is from the appreciation and needs of the customers, or from the specifications and technical requirements of the industry, it is developing for the better. 

But at the same time, it is also a challenge to produce tattoo equipment, especially tattoo ink.  You can't just produce products that meet minimum standards, you have to strive to stand at the top of the industry, to develop safer and better products to serve tattoo artists.  This is what we at Kuro Sumi have been insisting on for more than 20 years.

What’s your favourite tattoo convention, anywhere in the world?

Wow, I have been to lots of great conventions around the world! Some of my favourite shows include the London Tattoo Convention in the UK, Langfang International Tattoo Show in China, the Milano convention in Italy, New York and Los Angeles cons in America, Taiwan Tattoo Convention in Kaohsiung, and many more!

What’s coming up next for Zhang Po and Kuro Sumi Imperial?

Our next step will be to continue the research and development of new Kuro Sumi Imperial inks for our European artists. And we are planning to create some programs to help and support the new generation of tattoo artists, which will be of great help to growing our tattoo industry as well! This will allow everyone to better understand the culture of Kuro Sumi, and join the big family that is Kuro Sumi!

Huge thanks to Zhang Po for chatting with us about the new Kuro Sumi Imperial range of tattoo inks!

If you’d like to see some of his work, check out Po’s Instagram and Facebook pages, as well as follow Kuro Sumi on Facebook and Instagram. Make sure to also pick up some Kuro Sumi Imperial inks from the Killer Ink online store.