To me it makes sense to buy a machine made by a tattooer "in theory" but honestly I loved my neotat and didn't think twice about buying rays machine because to my knowledge ray built his neotat prototype for his artist to try out because he felt like he could make a more efficient machine and as a client/collector he is a part of the industry too. To my knowledge the lace nano guys don't have tattoos and probably aren't really into the industry like most tattooers and collectors . They solely want to make money off of a growing industry that they are not a part of. That's the difference between byying a neotat or a dragonfly versus buying a lace nano or a Chinese knock off. Just because someone doesn't tattoo doesn't mean they aren't a part of the industry but just because they can make a product that allows you to put ink into someone's skin doesn't mean they should be a part of our industry if that makes sense. It is very rare that a great tattooer also has the engineering capability to build a proper tattoo machine . In most cases it takes a relationship between the tattooer and the engineer to make a proper machine especially if it is going to be a new concept