What is 'Centering' and how does it affect the value of your card?
If you ever watch videos of collectors inspecting their freshly opened Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! or One Piece cards, you will almost always hear them shout one specific word: Centering (or centering). They look at the edges of the card with a hawk's eye and immediately determine whether the card is worth sending to a grading company such as PSA or Beckett.
But what exactly is centering, why do factories make mistakes with it, and how can a microscopic difference at the edge affect the value of your favorite card by hundreds of euros? In this guide by PRYME TRADING CARDS, we will explain the secrets of a perfectly centered card.
What is centering on a trading card?
Centering simply refers to how neatly the image is printed in the exact center of the card. Every trading card has an outer edge (border). On a perfectly centered card, the edge on the left side is exactly as wide as the edge on the right side, and the top edge is exactly as high as the bottom edge.
Because cards are printed on giant sheets at the factory and then cut out by machine, the paper sometimes shifts by a fraction of a millimeter. If the machine is significantly off, you get a card where the edge on one side is very thick and the edge on the other side is very thin. In extreme cases, we even refer to it as a Miscut or Off-Center card.
The difference between a PSA 9 and a legendary PSA 10 or BGS 10
You can pull a card directly from a pack (making the card 100% scratch-free), but unfortunately, that does not automatically mean the card will receive a perfect score from a grading company. Printing errors from the factory count heavily.
- The PSA standard: To achieve the highest score — a **PSA 10 Gem Mint** — PSA uses a so-called 60/40 to 55/45 rule for the front. This means that one edge may be slightly thicker than the other, as long as it is barely noticeable to the naked eye.
- The Beckett (BGS) standard: Beckett is even stricter. They use special software to look at the exact ratio. Do you want to achieve the ultimate **BGS Black Label 10**? Then the centering must be exactly 50/50 on both the front and the back. One percent deviation and you lose your perfect score.
How can you check the centering of your cards yourself?
Do you want to select a stack of top pieces yourself to keep or have graded? Then follow this simple step-by-step plan that our experts at PRYME also use:
- Ensure good, perpendicular lighting: Lay the card flat on a dark surface so that the edges (which are often white, yellow, or silver) stand out clearly.
- Compare left with right: Look at the thickness of the left outer edge and compare it with the right side. Does the image seem to 'lean' to one side?
- Compare top with bottom: Do the same for the top and bottom. For Pokémon cards, for example, pay close attention to the thickness of the bar where the HP (Hit Points) is located.
- Don't forget the back: Grading companies also inspect the back! Fortunately, PSA is slightly more lenient here (a deviation of up to 75/25 is allowed for a 10), but it cannot be too crooked.
Quality and perfection are central at PRYME
Hunting for a card with perfect 50/50 centering is a game within a game that makes collecting so incredibly challenging and fun. Because the chance of a perfectly centered card is low, the value of certified 'perfect' cards rises so sharply.
At PRYME TRADING CARDS, we are obsessed with quality. In our assortment, you will find exclusively carefully selected products. Do you not feel like dealing with the stress of checking and want to get a guaranteed perfect piece in your hands right away?
Then discover our beautiful selection of pre-evaluated Graded Cards, or try your luck and go hunting for that perfect 10 yourself with our factory-sealed booster boxes and mystery bags!
👉 Visit our homepage and start your search for the ultimate top piece today!
