What Is Card Centering?
Card centering refers to how evenly the printed image is positioned within a trading card's borders. Perfectly centered cards have equal border widths on all four sides. Off-center cards - where the image shifts left, right, up, or down - receive lower grades from professional grading services and are worth less on the secondary market.
Why It Matters
Centering is the most common reason a card fails to achieve a PSA 10 (Gem Mint) grade. Even brand-new, pack-fresh cards frequently have centering issues due to printing and cutting tolerances. PSA allows up to 60/40 front centering (meaning one border can be 50% wider than the opposite) for a 10 grade. Anything worse than 65/35 drops you to a 9 at best.
By the Numbers
By community estimates, only about 40-50% of pack-fresh Pokemon cards meet PSA 10 centering standards. Vintage cards (Base Set, Jungle, Fossil) are worse - some print runs had such poor quality control that PSA 10 population reports are in the single digits. A Base Set Charizard with 55/45 centering might grade PSA 9 ($3,500); that same card at 50/50 could grade PSA 10 ($30,000+).
Going Deeper
Centering is measured on both the front and back of the card, and front centering carries more weight. Digital cards eliminate centering issues entirely - when MakeACard generates a card, the artwork is always perfectly positioned within the card frame. No cutting variance, no print drift. It's one of the underrated advantages of digital card creation over physical production.
“Centering is the most underappreciated factor in card grading. It is the single most common reason a mint-condition card fails to achieve a perfect 10.”
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