Card Centering Guide (How to Measure + PSA Standards)

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Card centering can significantly increase the value of your trading cards—but only if you understand what graders are looking for.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about card centering, grading standards, and how to improve your chances of getting a PSA 10.

Card centering refers to how evenly the printed image is aligned within the borders of the card.

Grading companies like PSA use centering ratios to evaluate this:

• PSA 10: ~55/45 or better
• PSA 9: ~60/40 or better

Read full breakdown:

PSA grades cards from 1 to 10 based on:

• centering
• corners
• edges
• surface

Learn more:

To calculate centering, you measure the borders and compare them.

Centering Ratio = Left / (Left + Right)

Step-by-step:

1. Measure the left and right borders
2. Identify the smaller border
3. Divide the smaller border by the total border width

Learn more:

Before submitting your card, you should:

• inspect under good lighting
• check for surface flaws
• evaluate centering carefully

Full guide:

Checking centering manually is difficult and inconsistent.

Many collectors now use tools like MintySlab to:

• scan cards
• detect edges automatically
• calculate centering ratios instantly

This helps you make better submission decisions.

The difference between a PSA 9 and PSA 10 can be massive.

By understanding grading factors and checking your cards beforehand, you can:

• avoid wasted submissions
• maximize value
• improve grading outcomes

Card grading is part skill, part precision.

Collectors who take the time to evaluate centering and condition before submitting consistently get better results.