Pokémon Card Centering: What 55/45 Means and How to Measure It

Thinking about grading? Cardex AI Grading estimates a grade from photos of the front and back, including the centering ratios.

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What centering means

A Pokémon card is printed on a large sheet and then cut. If the cut lands slightly to one side, the artwork sits off-center and one border ends up wider than the one opposite it. Centering is the measure of how far off that cut was.

It's written as a ratio of two numbers that add up to 100. The first number is the wider border's share of the pair. A card with a 55/45 split left to right has a left border (or right, the order doesn't matter) that takes up 55% of the two side borders added together.

Every card has four of these ratios: left to right and top to bottom on the front, and the same two on the back. Graders look at all four, and the worst one is the one that counts.

The arithmetic

Divide the wider border by the two borders added together.

• Left 2.2 mm, right 1.8 mm: 2.2 ÷ 4.0 = 55%, so the card is 55/45 left to right.
• Top 2.6 mm, bottom 2.4 mm: 2.6 ÷ 5.0 = 52%, so it's 52/48 top to bottom.

The units don't matter. Millimeters, pixels in a photo or marks on a strip of paper all give the same ratio, as long as you use the same one for both borders.

What PSA, CGC and Beckett allow

The three companies publish their limits differently, so the numbers below are in three tables instead of one. All of them were taken from the graders' own pages, listed under Sources. Check those pages before you submit, because standards do get revised.

PSA

PSA gives one grade for the whole card, so centering is a ceiling, not a score. Three details in PSA's own wording are worth knowing:

• The percentages are approximate. PSA says its graders can make a judgment call based on eye appeal, in either direction.
• Centering is measured from the worst point. If a border is wider at one end than the other, the wide end is what gets measured.
• Off-center cards can get a qualifier. A card that's otherwise a 9 but too far off-center can come back as "Mint 9 OC".

CGC

* CGC states the figures for 9 and below for sports and non-sports cards. It doesn't publish separate numbers for trading card games at those grades, so treat them as a close guide for Pokémon cards.

Beckett (BGS)

Beckett is the strictest of the three. It also grades centering as its own subgrade next to corners, edges and surface, and a label with subgrades shows all four, so you can see what the grader thought of the centering specifically.

How to measure centering at home

You need a millimeter ruler or a digital caliper, bright even light and a flat surface. A caliper is easier to read on borders this thin, but a clear ruler works.

1. Take the card out of its sleeve. Sleeves and toploaders hide the true edge and add glare. Hold the card by its edges.
2. Pick your reference line and keep it. Measure from the cut edge of the card to the inside edge of the border, where the border color stops. On English cards that border is yellow up to 2022 and silver from Scarlet & Violet on. The back has a dark blue border.
3. Measure left and right, then top and bottom. Write down all four numbers for the front.
4. Check both ends of each border. If the cut was tilted, a border is wider at one end. Use the wider reading, since that's the worst point.
5. Turn the card over and repeat. The back has looser limits, but it still counts.
6. Do the division. Wider border ÷ both borders added together, for each pair.

Why a well-centered card can still miss a 10

Centering only sets the ceiling. A card that measures 52/48 both ways has cleared one of four checks, and the grade still depends on corners, edges and surface. Whitening on a back edge or a faint print line can pull a perfectly centered card down to a 9. Our condition guide shows what each of those flaws looks like.

Eye appeal works against you too. PSA says a card that technically measures within the standard can be held back if it looks off-center, which happens most on cards with strong contrast between the border and the artwork.

So measure centering first, because it's quick and it can't be argued with. If the card fails, you've saved a grading fee. If it passes, move on to the slower inspection.

Check centering with Cardex

If you'd rather not squint at a ruler, AI Grading in Cardex measures the front borders from your photo. You line up four corner markers on the card's edges, and the result shows both ratios, for example 55/45 and 52/48, along with the highest grade that centering would still allow. It also scores corners, edges and surface and marks the flaws it found.

AI Grading is a Cardex Premium feature and the result is an estimate from two photos, not an official grade. Use it to sort a stack into cards worth measuring by hand and cards that aren't.

See what your card could grade

Download Cardex, photograph the front and back, and get an estimated grade with centering ratios before you pay a grading fee.

Is the card worth submitting at all?

Centering tells you which grade is possible. Whether that grade is worth paying for is a separate question, and it depends on the gap between the raw price and the graded price for that exact card. Two guides cover that side: Is my Pokémon card worth grading? and Raw vs graded Pokémon card prices.

Centering questions collectors ask

What centering does a PSA 10 need?

PSA's standard for Gem Mint 10 says the image must be centered within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back. The card also has to pass on corners, edges and surface, so good centering alone doesn't make a 10.

Is 60/40 centering good enough for a PSA 10?

Not by PSA's published tolerance, which is about 55/45 on the front. PSA calls its percentages approximate, so a borderline card can go either way, but a front that measures 60/40 fits PSA's description of a Mint 9 better than a 10.

Does back centering matter?

Yes, but the limits are looser. PSA and CGC allow up to 75/25 on the back for a 10, and Beckett allows 60/40 on the back for a Pristine 10 or Gem Mint 9.5. A back that's far off can still cap the grade.

Which grader is strictest on centering?

Beckett. A BGS Pristine 10 needs 50/50 all around on the front and a Gem Mint 9.5 needs 50/50 one way and 55/45 the other. PSA 10 and CGC Gem Mint 10 both allow about 55/45. CGC's Pristine 10 also asks for 50/50.

Can you fix a card's centering?

No. Centering is set when the sheet is cut at the factory. Trimming an edge to even out the borders is an alteration, and grading companies won't give a trimmed card a normal grade.

Do pack-fresh cards have perfect centering?

Often they don't. A card can go straight from pack to sleeve and still measure 60/40 or worse, because the cut was off before it ever reached you. That's why it's worth measuring before you submit, even for cards you pulled yourself.

What does OC mean on a PSA label?

OC is PSA's off-center qualifier. It marks a card whose centering falls outside the standard for the grade its corners, edges and surface would otherwise earn.

Sources

• PSA: Grading Standards. The Gem Mint 10 centering tolerance and PSA's notes on eye appeal.
• PSA: Grading Your Cards. Mint 9 centering, the off-center qualifier and measuring from the worst point.
• CGC Cards: Grading Scale. Centering wording for Pristine 10, Gem Mint 10 and lower grades.
• Beckett: Grading Scale. Front and back centering criteria for each BGS grade.