Pokemon Card Centering: How to Check Before You Grade

What Pokemon Card Centering Actually Measures

Centering is the ratio of border width on opposite sides of a card. A perfectly centered card has equal borders on all sides. In practice, almost no card comes off the printing sheet perfectly even, so grading companies measure how far the image drifts from centre and express it as a ratio.

A card with 60/40 centering has one border that is 60% of the total horizontal (or vertical) border width, and the opposite border is 40%. The closer to 50/50, the better. The further from 50/50, the more noticeable the shift becomes, and the harder it hits your grade.

Pokemon cards are particularly affected by centering because most modern sets use bordered designs. When the border on one side is visibly thicker than the other, it jumps out immediately. Full-art and borderless cards are more forgiving since there is no border contrast to highlight the shift.

How PSA Grades Centering

PSA is the largest and most respected third-party authentication and grading company in the world for trading cards. Their centering standards are published on their Grading Standards page and set the benchmark most collectors measure against.

For a PSA Gem Mint 10, the image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse. That is tight. Your front borders need to be nearly even, while the back has significantly more room.

This is worth repeating: the front and back are graded on different scales. A card can have noticeably off-centre printing on the reverse and still qualify for a 10, as long as the front centering stays within 55/45. Most collectors fixate on the front and forget to check the back at all, but it matters.

PSA also notes that centering decisions carry a subjective element. Their grading standards page explains that when a card falls just within or just outside the printed centering guidelines, graders reserve the right to make a judgment call based on the strength or weakness of the card's overall eye appeal. A card with strong corners, colour, and surface might get a pass on borderline centering. A card that is average everywhere else will not.

PSA's centering note states: "At the grader's sole discretion, a small variance may be permitted on occasion based on the card's overall eye appeal."

The 60/40 Rule

The 60/40 rule is the quick-and-dirty threshold collectors use to decide whether a card is worth grading. If your centering is 60/40 or better on the front, you are in the range where a high grade is still possible (though not a PSA 10, which requires 55/45). If it is worse than 60/40, you are looking at a grade cap that drops your card's value significantly.

Here is how to think about common centering ratios:

50/50 - Perfect centering. Equal borders on both sides. Rare on any card.
55/45 - The PSA 10 threshold on the front. Borders are close enough that most people would not notice the difference without measuring.
60/40 - Visible to the trained eye but still passable for strong grades below a 10. This is the rule-of-thumb cutoff for "worth grading."
65/35 - Clearly off-centre. One border is almost twice the width of the other. This will drag your grade down.
70/30 and beyond - Significantly off-centre. PSA's grading standards use 70/30 as an example where eye appeal becomes a deciding factor in whether the card can reach an unqualified grade.

How to Measure Centering With a Ruler

You do not need specialised tools. A standard ruler with millimetre markings works.

Step 1: Measure the left and right borders. Place the card on a flat surface. Measure the border from the left edge of the card to where the printed image or frame begins. Then measure the right side the same way. Write both numbers down.

Step 2: Calculate the ratio. Add the two measurements together. Divide each individual measurement by the total. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

Example: Left border is 3mm, right border is 2mm. Total is 5mm. Left is 3/5 = 60%. Right is 2/5 = 40%. That is 60/40 centering.

Step 3: Repeat top to bottom. Measure the top border and the bottom border the same way. The worse of the two ratios (left/right or top/bottom) is what graders will use.

Step 4: Flip and measure the back. Same process on the reverse side. Remember, PSA allows up to 75/25 on the back for a Gem Mint 10, so the back is far more forgiving.

Tips for accuracy:

Use millimetres, not inches. Smaller units give you a more precise ratio.
Measure from the card edge to the start of the printed border or image frame, not to the artwork itself.
Take multiple measurements and average them if the border is slightly uneven along its length.
A magnifying glass helps on cards with thin borders where a fraction of a millimetre changes the ratio.

Why the Back Matters More Than You Think

Most collectors check the front and call it done. But the reverse of a Pokemon card can surprise you. Japanese-printed cards and certain sets are known for inconsistent back centering, and while PSA's 75/25 back tolerance is generous, some cards still blow past it.

The back is also where you catch rotation issues. If the card's print is slightly rotated relative to the cut, the centering will vary along the length of the border. One corner might measure 50/50 while the opposite corner reads 65/35. Graders account for this, and it is harder to spot without careful measurement.

Centering Across Grading Companies

PSA, CGC, and Beckett (BGS) all evaluate centering, but they handle it differently. If you are deciding where to submit, the centering standards are one factor worth comparing.

PSA uses a single overall grade and factors centering into that number. Their published tolerance for a Gem Mint 10 is 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the reverse. Centering that falls outside these tolerances may receive an OC (Off Centre) qualifier or simply cap the grade lower.

BGS breaks the grade into four sub-grades: centering, corners, edges, and surface. Centering is its own line item on the label, which means collectors can see exactly how the card performed in that category. This transparency is useful when you are evaluating raw cards, because you know centering is scored independently rather than averaged into an overall impression.

CGC also uses sub-grades for centering, surface, corners, and edges, similar to BGS. The sub-grade approach means centering is evaluated and displayed separately on the label.

For a deeper comparison of how these three companies handle Pokemon card grading, including pricing, turnaround times, and which grades carry the most resale value, we have a full breakdown.

Common Centering Problems on Pokemon Cards

Certain sets and product types are more prone to centering issues than others.

Japanese vs English prints. Japanese Pokemon cards are generally regarded as having tighter quality control, but centering on English-language cards varies widely by print run. Early Sword and Shield era cards were notorious for centering issues.

Booster pack cards vs promo cards. Promo cards and cards from special collections are often printed on separate sheets from booster pack cards. Different sheet sizes and cutting processes can lead to different centering tendencies.

Holo bleed and texture patterns. On textured full-art cards, centering can be harder to measure because the border is part of the textured surface. The printed frame is the reference point, not the edge of the texture pattern.

Should You Grade a Card With Borderline Centering?

This is the question every collector hits. You have a chase card in otherwise perfect condition, but the centering is sitting right around 60/40.

Consider these factors:

Card value raw vs graded. If the card's raw value is already high enough that even a PSA 9 represents a significant premium, borderline centering is less of a gamble. If you need a 10 to break even on grading costs, 60/40 centering means you are rolling the dice.
Which company you submit to. Sub-grade companies like BGS and CGC will show a centering score even if it pulls the overall grade down. A BGS 9.5 with a centering sub-grade of 8.5 still carries strong value in most markets.
The card's other attributes. PSA's grading standards explicitly state that strong performance in other areas (colour, corners, surface) can influence borderline centering decisions. A card that is flawless in every other respect has a better shot at an exception.

If you are sitting on cards you think are worth grading, checking the current market value of graded versions is a good starting point. CardTracker.au tracks Pokemon TCG products across eBay Australia, so you can compare what graded cards are actually selling for before you commit to a submission.

Pre-Grading Centering Checklist

Before you sleeve up and ship out, run through this:

Measure front left/right centering. Is it 55/45 or better? If not, what is the realistic grade ceiling?
Measure front top/bottom centering. The worse axis is your limiting factor.
Flip and measure the back. Is it within 75/25? Check for rotation.
Compare against the grading company's standards. PSA 10 requires 55/45 front and 75/25 back. Adjust your expectations for the company you are submitting to.
Factor in the card's value. Is the expected grade worth the grading fee and turnaround time?
Check for authentication concerns. Centering is only one piece. Corners, edges, surface, and authenticity all play a role.

Centering is the one grading factor you can measure at home with complete accuracy. Every other attribute (surface scratches, print lines, corner whitening) requires magnification and expertise. Use that advantage. Measure before you submit, and you will avoid paying grading fees on cards that never had a shot at the grade you wanted.