How to measure card centering
Centering describes how evenly the artwork sits inside the card’s borders. It is the most objective part of a grade, so it is worth measuring before you submit.
Published · Guides
Reading a centering ratio
If the left border is 2.2 mm and the right is 1.8 mm, the left takes 55% of the combined 4.0 mm, so left/right centering is 55/45. Measure top and bottom the same way. Grading looks at whichever direction is further off.
For a PSA 10, the front must be within 55/45 and the back within 75/25. The guide comparing grading standards lists every company’s numbers in one table.
Photo tips for an accurate measurement
- Lay the card on a flat, plain surface; a dark color that contrasts with the border works best.
- Hold the phone parallel to the card and shoot straight down. An angled shot makes the nearer border look wider.
- Use bright, even light with no shadows, and change the light angle if there is glare.
- Take the card out of sleeves and toploaders; a case edge can be mistaken for the card edge.
- Fill 60–80% of the frame with the card to reduce lens distortion near the edges.
Measuring automatically
AlphaGrade finds the card’s outer edge and the inner artwork border in your photo and calculates the ratios. Tilted photos are straightened before measuring, though a straight shot is still more accurate. If a detected line is off, set the corners and edges yourself and check with the magnifier.
Notes for Pokémon and One Piece cards
- Full-art cards have no visible inner frame, which makes measuring harder; use whatever border line is visible.
- Centering varies from copy to copy even for the same card, so if you have several copies of an expensive rare or parallel, measure them and submit the best-centered one.
- Back standards are looser than front ones, but a badly off-center back still lowers the grade.