Needle-free tattooing: the future is already here
Painless, needle-free tattoos are no longer the stuff of science fiction.
Published on August 8, 2026
Team IO+ selects and features the most important news stories on innovation and technology, carefully curated by our editors.
The fear of needles keeps many people from getting a tattoo. But those days are over. In London, the startup CipherX is already applying permanent tattoos without spilling a drop of blood. In the Netherlands, the University of Twente is working on an even more advanced method: jet injection.
The stick-on tattoo from London
The London-based startup CipherX was the first to bring a commercial, seamless tattoo to market. Their MicroDot technology uses a patch with hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin. Within 15 minutes, these needles deposit black ink into the top layer of skin, without pain or blood. The tattoo appears as a grid of tiny dots, ideal for minimalist designs such as hearts or stars. The technology has limitations: it’s limited to black ink, small designs (up to 15 mm), and cannot be applied to sensitive areas such as the hands or face. Still, it’s a breakthrough for people with a fear of needles. The patches are currently applied only in London or at pop-up events by trained staff🔗︎.
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Jet injection: the Dutch scientific approach
In the Netherlands, too, there are exciting developments taking place in the field of tattoos. However, the University of Twente is taking a different approach. Led by David Fernández Rivas and Ph.D. candidate Ana Sofia Oliveira Nogueira, researchers are working on jet injection technology. In this process, an ultra-thin jet of liquid—thinner than a human hair—penetrates the skin at a speed of 50 to 100 meters per second. The jet is powered by a laser that heats the liquid to above its boiling point, creating a gas bubble that injects the ink. This method causes less damage to the skin than traditional needles and eliminates the risk of contaminated needles. The technology is still in the research phase, but it demonstrates that seamless tattoos are technically feasible. Medical applications, such as painless vaccinations, are also on the horizon🔗︎.
The spin-off FlowBeams, founded by David Fernández Rivas, aims to bring the University of Twente’s scientific breakthroughs to market. This involves medical applications for administering medications and vaccines.
However, that does not mean the University of Twente has abandoned tattoos. In scientific publications, needle-free tattooing is sometimes used as a research model.