The tip of the tube is held above the skin which allows the mechanism in the tattoo gun to push the needles in and out of the delicate skin from 100 to almost 3,000 times per minute. The needle when moving upward near the tube enables it to pick ink. The dermis, which is the second layer of the skin, is the primary target of the ink injected. When ink runs out, it is loaded by simply placing the needle's tip into an ink well following the tapping of the pedal to release ink.