Card centering and grading glossary: 52 definitions
This glossary explains 52 terms used in card centering, grading and collecting. It separates measurable borders from condition defects and house-specific labels. Definitions link to official sources where applicable; terms such as Pristine or Black Label do not share universal requirements, and a centering ratio cannot authenticate a card or establish its overall grade.
Terms and definitions
Centering · Off-center · OC qualifier · Miscut · Diamond cut · Print border · Cut edge · Pristine · Black Label · Gem Mint · Subgrades · Slab · Crossover · Regrade · Raw · Population report · Gem rate · TAG · ACE · Crimp · Print lines · Whitening · Edgewear · Surface · Foil · Holo · Reverse holo · Full art · Borderless · Alternate art · Chrome · Refractor · Centering ratio · Left/right axis · Top/bottom axis · Perspective correction · Centering ceiling · Measurement uncertainty · Pack-fresh · Qualifier · Print registration · Print defect · Corner wear · Crease · Scratch · Authentication · Altered card · Restored card · TCG · Toploader · Sleeve · Eye appeal
Centering
Balance of opposing printed borders, checked separately on horizontal and vertical axes.
Off-center
Printed design displaced relative to the physical cut. It is not automatically a factory miscut.
OC qualifier
PSA’s off-center qualifier. Its use follows the company’s applicable service rules.
Miscut
Factory cutting error, distinction from ordinary off-centering depends on the card and the grader’s error policy.
Diamond cut
Printed frame tilted relative to the cut edges, producing border widths that change along a side.
Print border
Visible printed boundary used as the inner reference for a border measurement, it must be consistent.
Cut edge
Physical outside boundary of the card, not a sleeve edge or an artwork frame.
Pristine
Top-condition label used by some houses, including CGC and Beckett. Requirements are house-specific.
Black Label
Beckett label for a card awarded four subgrades of 10, a centering result alone cannot establish it.
Beckett — Introducing BGS Black (2014)
Gem Mint
High-condition grade label, commonly associated with 10. Its detailed requirements differ between houses.
Subgrades
Separate assessments of grading categories, such as centering, corners, edges and surface. Availability varies by service.
Beckett — Introducing BGS Black (2014)
Slab
Protective holder used to encapsulate a graded or authenticated card with identification details.
Crossover
Submission of a card in another company’s holder for assessment and possible encapsulation by the receiving grader.
Regrade
A further grading assessment. Review, regrade and reholder services may have different rules and are not interchangeable.
Raw
Card outside a grading company’s certified holder. Raw does not mean untouched, authentic or undamaged.
Population report
Company report counting recorded grades for identified cards. It does not count every surviving physical copy.
Gem rate
Share of recorded submissions in a defined dataset awarded a specified Gem Mint grade, not an individual card’s probability.
TAG
Technical Authentication & Grading, a grading company using machine-learning imaging and human verification. Not a Centering Lab grading model.
TAG — technology and human review
ACE
Ace Grading, a card-grading company with its own scale and labels. Centering Lab does not model its numerical limits.
Crimp
An impression from pack-sealing equipment on a card caught in the sealing area.
Print lines
Lines associated with printing or foil production, distinguish them from later scratches before naming the defect.
Whitening
Light card stock visible where a coloured edge or corner is chipped or worn.
Edgewear
Wear or damage along the physical edges, distinct from uneven border widths.
Surface
Card-face condition, including gloss, scratches, dents and printing defects, not measured by border ratios.
Foil
Reflective treatment or layer. The pattern and location depend on the product and printing.
Pokémon — Scarlet & Violet card aesthetic
Holo
Collecting term for a holographic or foil card treatment, the exact finish varies by game and set.
Pokémon — Scarlet & Violet card aesthetic
Reverse holo
Pokémon treatment with foil outside the illustration area, patterns and exceptions depend on the set.
Pokémon — Scarlet & Violet card aesthetic
Full art
Artwork extending across much of the card face, it may not leave a uniform measurable frame.
Pokémon — Scarlet & Violet card aesthetic
Borderless
Design treatment removing the usual visible outer frame. Missing borders cannot be inferred from artwork subjects.
Alternate art
A different illustration for a card variant. It does not by itself define rarity, finish or centering.
Chrome
Topps product and card-treatment branding associated with chromium-style reflective cards.
Refractor
Topps term for a reflective card variation with a rainbow-like light effect, appearance and variants differ.
Centering ratio
Each opposing border’s percentage of their combined width. Calculate each axis independently.
Left/right axis
Horizontal comparison of left and right printed border widths in the chosen card orientation.
Top/bottom axis
Vertical comparison of top and bottom printed border widths, do not average it with the horizontal result.
Perspective correction
Geometric mapping of a photographed quadrilateral to a rectangle using the selected nominal card format.
Centering ceiling
Highest modeled grade compatible with measured centering alone. It is not a predicted overall grade.
Measurement uncertainty
Range expressing plausible measurement variation from boundary placement, it does not capture every photographic or grading error.
Pack-fresh
Recently removed from a pack. Manufacturing and packaging defects can still exist.
Qualifier
Company-specific label annotation identifying a particular condition issue, definitions and use depend on the service.
Print registration
Alignment between printed colour layers, misregistration can shift colours without shifting the physical cut.
Print defect
Production-related printing flaw, distinct from later handling wear. Its grading effect depends on the house.
Corner wear
Rounding, chipping or other wear at the corners, assessed separately from centering.
Crease
A fold or bend that leaves a visible or structural line in the card.
Scratch
A mark from abrasion on the surface, distinct from an identified printing line.
Authentication
Assessment of whether a card is genuine. Border measurements alone cannot perform this assessment.
Altered card
A card changed after production, for example by trimming or recolouring. Acceptance depends on the kind of alteration and house policy.
Restored card
Card treated to repair or disguise condition defects. This can affect grading eligibility and is not inferred from centering.
TCG
Trading card game: a game played using collectible cards. Grading services can distinguish TCG from sports categories.
Toploader
Rigid protective card holder, distinct from a semi-rigid submission holder. Its outline is not the card’s physical cut.
Sleeve
A thin protective cover around a card. Glare and its edges can confuse a photographic measurement.
Eye appeal
Overall visual impression considered by a grader, it is not reducible to a centering ratio.
Beckett’s 2014 Black Label announcement is a historical source; its website currently redirects to maintenance. No current service availability is inferred.
Sources
- PSA — C
- PSA — Q
- CGC — error card types
- CGC — grading scale
- Beckett — Introducing BGS Black (2014)
- PSA — collecting glossary
- PSA — trading card services
- PSA — R
- PSA — P
- TAG — technology and human review
- Ace Grading — grading scale
- Pokémon — Scarlet & Violet card aesthetic
- Wizards — Project Booster Fun
- Topps — Chrome brand history
- Topps — True Refractor
- CGC — cards accepted
- PSA — grading standards
Centering Lab · Updated on
Official sources checked on .
Consultation includes inaccessible sources; numerical models were verified on .