Heavy metals used in tattoo inks include mercury (red); lead (yellow, green, white); cadmium (red, orange, yellow); nickel (black); zinc (yellow, white); chromium (green); cobalt (blue); aluminium (green, violet); titanium (white); copper (blue, green); iron (brown, red, black); and barium (white). Metal oxides used include ferrocyanide and ferricyanide (yellow, red, green, blue). Organic chemicals used include azo-chemicals (orange, brown, yellow, green, violet) and naptha-derived chemicals (red). Carbon (soot or ash) is also used for black. Other elements used as pigments include antimony, arsenic, beryllium, calcium, lithium, selenium, and sulphur.

Lewis “Lew the Jew” Alberts, Charlie Wagner, Brooklyn Joe Lieber, William Moskowitz, Milton Zeis… these are the founding fathers who created the art of American tattooing and the technology that helped establish an industry.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/jews-and-tattoos-a-new-york-story