Printable Tattoo Designs | Finding Tattoo Designs Online

It's very important to put a lot of time into choosing the right tattoo design. Since it is likely to be with you for the rest of your life, you need to be sure that you get something you'll want to live with. So take the time to think about what type of tattoo design is best for you, and even when you think you've found the right one, wait a while before actually getting inked, in case you change your mind. This might sound obvious, but a surprising number of people get a tattoo on impulse without giving a lot of thought to the design (me included!), and often come to regret it later.

Tattoo parlours typically have a selection of designs, but it's a good idea to have a look at what's available online too, so you can check out the widest possible selection before making a choice. Many sites have printable tattoo designs that you can download and take to the parlour with you.

A quick Google search will reveal many tattoo-related sites, and a lot of these feature galleries of tattoo designs and photos. These can be great places to get ideas about the kind of design you might like, and you might even find the perfect one for you.

The only problem with these sites is that the quality of the designs (and often of the sites themselves) is not always that good. The designs are also often displayed at low resolution, making it hard to see the details, or to print them effectively. You do get what you pay for in this case, and with something as permanent (and maybe even life-changing) as a tattoo, you should go for the best designs available - which aren't usually found on the free sites.

In addition, the free designs are widely distributed, widely used, and anything but unique. So if you're looking for something a bit more unusual, look elsewhere.

But despite the drawbacks, free tattoo design sites can provide a good starting point - just bear in mind that you're unlikely to find the really top quality designs here.

There are several tattoo membership sites online that offer a wide range of high quality printable tattoo designs. With these, you normally pay a small one-off membership fee for access to the site, and then you can take full advantage of the designs (and often other services such as forums, member galleries etc) that are on offer.

Why join a tattoo membership site when there are so many free galleries online? There are a few reasons why these membership sites are so popular.

• They offer printable tattoo designs, not just photos of the tattoo on someone's skin - this obviously helps if you want to use the design yourself
  
• They hire or commission the best artists, and offer very high quality, professional designs, whereas the free stuff is not always of such good quality
  
• They're generally very well organised, and tattoo designs are searchable by type, size, colour etc, making it easy to find what you're looking for
  
• You're more likely to find a design that few, if any, other people are using - unlike free designs which might be widely used
  
• Most are regularly updated, and once you've paid the one-off joining fee, you have access to the new material for life (depending on the membership option you choose)
  
• Finding a tattoo design online at home and printing it off to take to the tattoo parlour is a very easy way to go about things - especially as the shop might not have any designs that appeal to you (and they are likely to be commonly used)
  
• Some offer appealing 'extras' in addition to tattoo designs, such as forums and other community features, member photo galleries and other tattoo-related info. Some, such as TattooMeNow, are a kind of 'one-stop shop' for many tattoo-related resources, which is very convenient for members
  
• Most offer the ability to enlarge the designs for close-up viewing. This is very useful if you want to test your tattoo at home by printing it onto tattoo paper first
  
• Although there is a joining fee, this is usually relatively low - most sites charge less than $40 for lifetime membership, and many offer lower rates for shorter-term access to the site. This is a small price to pay for the convenience of browsing through the thousands of top quality professional designs that most offer, not to mention the additional services. They're especially good value for those who like to get multiple tattoos, or who are interested in the tattoo lifestyle
  

If you're thinking of joining a tattoo membership site and taking advantage of the great resources that most of them offer, here are some things to bear in mind.

• You should only have to pay a one-off membership fee for access to the site - not a monthly charge. Some sites, such as TattooMeNow, offer a tiered charging structure, where you can join for a shorter period at a lower fee, so you can see if you like the site first.
  
• They should update their database of designs regularly
  
• See what others are saying - have a search for user reviews
  
• As an extra, some offer additional services such as community forum etc. - these aren't standard features, but they all count towards a better experience
  
• The designs should be organised into clear categories that are easy to navigate
  
• Look for the facility to view the designs at large sizes and high resolutions - this is necessary if you want to print a design off for your tattoo artist
  
• They should offer a money-back guarantee, so you can get a refund within a set period (usually 60 days) if you're not satisfied
  

In my opinion, TattooMeNow is the best tattoo membership site. Why? Because of the quality of the designs on offer, combined with the wealth of additional resources.

Things I like about TattooMeNow:

• It offers over 3,500 designs, with more constantly being added
  
• There are 40 design categories, which are easily searchable
  
• These designs are top quality - no amateurish artwork here!
  
• The service is friendly and efficient
  
• They offer a 60 day money-back guarantee, so you can get a refund if you don't like the site
  
• Unlike other tattoo membership sites, TattooMeNow offers much more than just tattoo designs - you also get access to a vibrant, friendly community, with a discussion forum, a members' gallery where you can share tattoo photos, a directory of tattoo studios worldwide, tattoo videos, up to date info about the latest tattoo-related events and a library of tattoo resources
  

As much as I like it, TattooMeNow isn't totally perfect. What I'm not so keen on:

• There's no preview facility - but since the site offers a 60-day money back guarantee, you can sign up with the assurance that you can get a refund if you're unhappy with what's on offer
  
• It also doesn't offer quite so many designs as some of the other sites. But with over 3,500 to choose from, there's still a huge wealth of great tattoo designs here
  

The printable tattoo designs at TattooMeNow fall into the following categories:

• Abstract Tattoos
  
• Angel Tattoos
  
• Bellybutton Tattoos
  
• Biker Tattoos
  
• Bird Tattoos
  
• Butterfly Tattoos
  
• Cartoon Tattoos
  
• Celtic Tattoos
  
• Chinese Tattoos
  
• Cross Tattoos
  
• Devil Tattoos
  
• Dolphin Tattoos
  
• Dragon Tattoos
  
• Eagle Tattoos
  
• Fairy Tattoos
  
• Fantasy Tattoos
  
• Heart Tattoos
  
• Horse Tattoos
  
• Insect Tattoos
  
• Japanese Tattoos
  
• Lizard Tattoos
  
• Lower Back Tattoos
  
• Mermaid Tattoos
  
• Monster Tattoos
  
• Miscellaneous Tattoos
  
• Patriotic Tattoos
  
• Religious Tattoos
  
• Rose Tattoos
  
• Scorpion Tattoos
  
• Skull Tattoos
  
• Snake Tattoos
  
• Sport Tattoos
  
• Star Tattoos
  
• Sun Tattoos
  
• Symbol Tattoos
  
• Tiger Tattoos
  
• Tribal Tattoos
  
• Various Animal Tattoos
  
• Women Tattoos (but no category for tattoos of men - ok that's another thing I don't like so much lol!)
  
• Zodiac Tattoos
  
  There's a pretty good range here, so most people will find something that interests them. Of course you can always get creative and combine two or more tattoos into a single design also.
  

There are other very good (and not so good) tattoo membership sites available, which I'll review properly in future lenses. For now, others that you might like to check out include:

Chopper Tattoo
The most popular tattoo site on the web, with lots of top quality designs.

Infinite Tattoos
A huge site, with over 15,000 designs to choose from, and a discussion forum too.

Tattoo My Brain
Over 6,000 quality tattoo designs here, and well worth a look, although it's not the easiest site to search through.

Target Tattoo
10,000+ great designs.