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Free Tool

Card Centering Tool

Centering is the first thing a grader measures. Enter your card’s border widths and see your exact front centering and the highest PSA grade it could support — before you spend a cent on grading.

Measure the borders in any unit (mm, or pixels from a straight scan) — just be consistent.

Horizontal borders
Vertical borders
Centering supports up to
Horizontal (L/R)
Vertical (T/B)
Worst axis
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Centering only sets the ceiling — corners, edges and surface decide the rest. As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner we may earn from qualifying purchases.

Centering looks good? → Run the grading ROI

Centering is a ceiling — corners, edges, and surface still decide the final grade.

PSA centering tolerances (front)

Centering sets the highest grade a card can reach. These are the widely-cited PSA front-centering thresholds:

  • PSA 10 (Gem Mint) — about 55/45 or better
  • PSA 9 (Mint) — about 60/40
  • PSA 8 (NM-MT) — about 65/35
  • PSA 7 (NM) — about 70/30

Backs are graded more leniently (a 10 generally allows ~75/25 on the back). This tool focuses on the front, where centering is judged most strictly.

How to measure accurately

  • Scan straight-on at high resolution, or use calipers on the physical card.
  • Measure to the same reference on each side — typically the edge of the printed image to the edge of the card.
  • Be consistent with units. Ratios are what matter, not the absolute numbers.

Which Wemby cards centering decides

Centering matters most where the grade premium is steepest and the borders are unforgiving. On Victor Wembanyama's 2023-24 rookies that means the chrome parallel rainbows: the Prizm rookie and its numbered Prizm parallels, plus the Select and Mosaic chrome lanes, where a thin coloured border makes a 60/40 obvious to the eye. Paper base rookies like Hoops and Donruss Rated Rookie are cheap enough that a centering miss usually just means don't grade it at all.

If you're not sure which card you're holding, the rookie card checklist maps every 2023-24 brand tier by tier. Once you know the card and the centering ceiling, work out whether grading is worth the fee at all — should you grade your Wemby cards? walks the PSA vs BGS vs SGC decision, and the grading ROI calculator puts a number on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I measure card centering?
Measure the white border on the left and right of the card’s image (horizontal), and the top and bottom borders (vertical). Use any unit — millimeters, or pixels from a straight-on scan — as long as you’re consistent. Enter all four and the tool converts them to a centering ratio like 55/45 and tells you the best PSA grade that centering allows.
What centering do you need for a PSA 10?
PSA’s Gem Mint 10 generally requires roughly 55/45 centering or better on the front (and about 75/25 or better on the back). PSA 9 allows about 60/40, PSA 8 about 65/35. Centering is only a ceiling, though — corners, edges, and surface still have to hold up for the card to actually hit that grade.
Does centering alone determine the grade?
No. Centering sets the maximum grade a card can earn, but corners, edges, and surface condition can pull it lower. A perfectly centered card with a soft corner won’t get a 10. Use this to rule cards out (bad centering caps the grade) and pair it with an honest look at the other three factors.

Where to go next

Centering is one input. These pages cover the rest of the decision — which card you have, whether it's worth grading, and what the market is paying.