Yes you have to buy their dedicated cartridges ( super duper pricey) and although the grips are autoclaveable (also about $100 a piece) most folks just try to cover the grip and pretend like that is adequate for cross contamination prevention. In reality although the tips are disposable there is no way in hell you wouldnt contaminate that grip with pigments or the wash cup. Seen alot of folks doing it this way. I wouldnt get tattooed by one of those machines unless I saw that grip come out of a clave bag.