1.   As you might guess, local tattoo artists sided with him.

2.   Barbers, tattoo artists, and nail technicians are regulated more strictly in some states, he said.

3.   A situation that has every tattoo artist in town ready with an opinion.

4.   A tattoo artist left his imprint just above her, you know, beauty-queen fanny.

5.   But New Jersey officials decided to ban the tattoo artists, fearing they would not be properly regulated.

6.   But that worries some traditional tattoo artists, who fear an eroding of the apprentice system.

7.   But the specter of communicating disease through their needles, especially in the age of AIDS, has forced newer tattoo artists to become much more careful.

8.   Despite such naysayers, Kaplan says he is improving the profession by ensuring that would-be tattoo artists get the proper training.

9.   During the years that tattooing was illegal, dozens of tattoo artists maintained a subterranean industry, working out of unmarked back rooms and apartment kitchens.

10.   Even some longtime tattoo artists are concerned about the current fad.