Cable's TLC sets up shop in Miami's South Beach to take viewers inside the colorful, sometimes painful, world of tattoo artistry in "Miami Ink."

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The show premieres July 19 at 10 p.m. EDT on TLC. In the series, friends and competitive rivals open and run a custom tattoo parlor where they live, work and play together. The resident artists -- Ami James, Chris Nunez, Chris Garver and Darren Brass live and work together to promote the art of tattoo while running a new business.

In addition to spotlighting the artists, each tattoo has a story to tell and do the clients. The clients include 18-year-old teens, suburban housewives, famous actors and professionals.

Many people get tattoos to signify some pivotal moment or event in their lives and viewers gain insight into each "Miami Ink" customer and his or her choice of artwork and the reason behind it getting the tattoo, according to show's producer Charlie Corwin.

A 2003, Harris poll found Harris Poll found 16 percent of Americans now have one or more tattoos.