MTG centering tool: Magic frames, borderless and backs

Which card format should the MTG centering tool use?

This page opens standard calibration, 63.5 × 88.9 mm, from the card-size model. It is a nominal tool setting, not a measurement guarantee for every Magic printing. Oversized cards, art objects and other nonstandard formats should not be forced into the playing-card calibration.

Compare the exact treatment and edition before measuring. Wizards' frame explanation distinguishes extended art, borderless and showcase designs. Sources for this page were consulted on 2 October 2026. Those designs require different border choices, not a universal rectangle based on rules text.

How do black and white Magic borders differ for measurement?

For a conventional bordered printing, choose the continuous transition between the outer border and the inner printed frame. The physical outside edge remains the cut. White borders can blend with a pale table; black borders can blend with a dark shadow. Use a contrasting matte background and verify four corners before the inside lines.

Do not use the text box, mana cost or illustration window as the whole-card frame. Older frames and modern frames distribute these elements differently. Wear on a white border or whitening on a black one is a condition issue; it should not move the intended inside boundary to a convenient undamaged pixel.

What should you do with borderless, extended-art or showcase cards?

An extended-art design can retain some framing while eliminating side boundaries; a borderless design may remove a complete front reference. A showcase treatment needs its own inspection. A clear bottom text box does not supply missing matching top and side margins.

Where a genuinely continuous frame is absent, do not return an invented full front ratio. Measure the conventional reverse if present. A frame defined on only one axis does not validate the other axis. Visual examples show complete opposing borders; use them for geometry, not as templates pasted onto different artwork.

How do you check Magic backs and double-faced cards?

On a conventional reverse, identify the continuous outer printed boundary rather than centering the lettering, colour dots or central oval by eye. Record both axes from a separate square-on photograph. The front lines do not belong on the reverse automatically.

A double-faced card does not have that conventional reverse. Inspect its second face's actual frame instead. The grading front/back selection describes the face you are evaluating, not whether an illustration looks like a front. Keep the second-face treatment identified and do not promise that a full-art second face becomes measurable merely by choosing “back”.

Which grading houses have verified Magic coverage?

PSA's Magic collecting reference documents graded MTG cards. CGC's TCG service explicitly lists Magic: The Gathering. These support game coverage, not automatic acceptance of every oversized item, altered card or unusual treatment.

Limits apply to both axes separately. For BGS front, the worse axis must meet the loose limit and the other axis the tight limit. — means no separate numerical back rule in this model. A ceiling is not an overall grade.

The four models compare centering only and show their evidence status. A front at 60/40 on both axes returns 9 MINT for PSA in this model. That is not an MTG-wide grading standard or a prediction of overall condition. Consult the house standards for missing bands and interpreted rules.

Which MTG photo problems should you resolve first?

Sleeves create another rectangle; rigid holders can hide the cut. Foil glare may track a light source rather than the print. Move the light, flatten the card safely and retake the photo from above. Do not use digital enlargement as evidence of precision in a thin margin.

Use your own Magic photo after opening the tool: its demonstration is a general workflow example. The format parameter chooses standard for this visit, while manual format correction stays available. Keep uncertainty at a threshold and use the multi-game overview for the contrast with smaller Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

Frequently asked questions