Understanding Trading Card Centering: A Complete Guide

January 28, 20268 min read

What Is Card Centering?

Centering is one of the four primary attributes that professional grading companies evaluate when assigning a grade to a trading card. It refers to the placement of the printed image and design relative to the physical edges of the card. A perfectly centered card has equal borders on all sides: the same width on the left and right, and the same width on the top and bottom. When the printing is shifted in any direction, the card is considered off-center, and this can significantly affect its grade.

Centering issues are among the most common reasons that otherwise flawless cards fail to achieve top grades. A card can have perfect corners, pristine edges, and a flawless surface, but if the centering is noticeably off, it will not receive a Gem Mint grade from any major grading company. Understanding how centering is measured and evaluated is essential for any collector who wants to make informed grading decisions.

How Grading Companies Measure Centering

Centering is expressed as a ratio that compares the border widths on opposite sides of the card. The most common notation uses a format like 60/40 or 55/45, where the numbers represent the percentage of the total border space on each side.

For example, if a card has a left border of 3mm and a right border of 2mm, the total horizontal border space is 5mm. The left side represents 60% (3 out of 5) and the right side represents 40% (2 out of 5), giving a centering ratio of 60/40 left-to-right. A perfectly centered card would be 50/50 on both axes.

Both the horizontal (left-right) and vertical (top-bottom) centering are measured independently. A card might be perfectly centered horizontally but significantly off-center vertically, or vice versa. Both axes must meet the grading company's standards for the card to achieve a high grade.

Front vs. Back Centering

Most collectors focus exclusively on front centering, but grading companies evaluate both sides of the card. The front centering is always weighted more heavily than the back because it is the display side and what buyers see first. However, severe back centering issues can still pull down a grade.

PSA evaluates both front and back centering but allows more leniency on the back.
BGS assigns a separate centering subgrade (1-10) that considers both front and back.
CGC evaluates centering as part of the overall grade without a separate subgrade.
SGC considers centering but is generally viewed as slightly more lenient on this attribute for vintage cards.

A common scenario is a card with near-perfect front centering but poor back centering. At PSA, this card might still achieve a 10 if the back is within 75/25. At BGS, the centering subgrade might drop to an 8.5 or 9, which could prevent a 9.5 or 10 overall depending on the other subgrades.

Centering Standards by Grading Company

Each grading company has its own published standards for centering at each grade level. Understanding these thresholds is critical for predicting how your card will be evaluated.

PSA Centering Standards

PSA 10 (Gem Mint): 60/40 or better on the front, 75/25 or better on the back.
PSA 9 (Mint): 65/35 or better on the front, 90/10 or better on the back.
PSA 8 (NM-MT): 70/30 or better on the front, 90/10 or better on the back.

PSA is generally considered moderate in its centering standards. The 60/40 front requirement for a Gem Mint grade is achievable for many modern cards but can be a challenge for vintage cards with less precise printing processes.

BGS Centering Standards

BGS 10 (Pristine): 50/50 to 55/45 on both front and back.
BGS 9.5 (Gem Mint): 55/45 or better on the front, 60/40 or better on the back.
BGS 9 (Mint): 60/40 or better on the front, 65/35 or better on the back.

BGS is stricter on centering, particularly at the Pristine 10 level. The centering subgrade is one of four subgrades (along with corners, edges, and surface) that determine the overall grade. A centering subgrade below 9.5 makes it mathematically impossible to achieve a BGS 10 overall.

Left-Right vs. Top-Bottom Centering

Cards can be off-center in two independent directions: left-right (horizontal) and top-bottom (vertical). It is entirely possible for a card to be perfectly centered on one axis but significantly off-center on the other.

In practice, vertical centering issues are more common than horizontal ones for many modern card sets. This is because the cutting process in card manufacturing tends to introduce more variability in the vertical direction. Some sets are notoriously difficult to find well-centered, and experienced collectors learn which print runs and manufacturers tend to produce better or worse centering.

When evaluating a card, always check both axes. It is easy to glance at a card and think it looks centered when really only the left-right centering is good while the top-bottom centering is off. Rotating the card 90 degrees can help you see vertical centering issues more clearly.

Tips for Evaluating Centering at Home

You do not need professional equipment to get a good read on your card's centering. Here are practical methods that collectors use to evaluate centering before submitting to a grading company.

The eyeball test: Hold the card at arm's length and see if the borders look even. This catches major centering issues but can miss subtle ones.
The ruler method: Use a precision ruler or caliper to measure each border in millimeters. Calculate the ratio yourself. This is the most accurate manual method.
The comparison method: Place your card next to a known well-centered copy of the same card. Differences in centering become obvious side by side.
Digital centering tools: Several apps and websites let you upload a photo of your card and calculate centering ratios automatically. These tools use image analysis to provide quick, accurate measurements.
AI-powered analysis: Tools like GradingMetric analyze card images and provide centering measurements as part of a comprehensive grade prediction. This gives you not just the centering ratio but also how it is likely to affect your overall grade at each grading company.

How Centering Affects Card Value

The impact of centering on card value depends on the specific card and the grade it achieves. For high-demand cards where the difference between a PSA 9 and PSA 10 represents a significant price jump, centering becomes critically important because it is often the deciding factor between those two grades.

For example, a 2024 base rookie card might sell for $50 in PSA 9 but $200 in PSA 10. If the only thing preventing a PSA 10 is centering at 65/35, that small margin of centering represents a $150 difference in value. This is why centering evaluation should be a core part of your pre-submission process.

For lower-value cards or vintage cards where grading standards are more relaxed, centering has less of an absolute impact on value. But for any card where you are targeting a Gem Mint or Pristine grade, centering is non-negotiable. Master it, measure it, and let it guide your submission decisions.