centering-measurement-discipline

name	centering-measurement-discipline
description	Use when measuring centering before submission, or auditing a grade you disagree with. Covers 55/45, 60/40, 65/35 thresholds across graders.

Centering Measurement Discipline

Centering is L/R · T/B ratios. Measure inner-border to inner-border, divide smaller by larger, take the worse axis as your grade.

Threshold table

L/R or T/B	PSA cap	BGS cap	SGC cap
50/50–55/45	10	10 Pristine	10
55/45–60/40	9	9.5	9.5
60/40–65/35	8	9	9
65/35–70/30	7	8.5	8
Worse than 70/30	6 or qualifier	8	7

Set-specific quirks

• Topps Chrome / Refractors: factory shift 2–3mm common
• Panini Prizm: notoriously off-center; aim 55/45 minimum
• Pokemon Modern: graders look at INKED border, not holo field
• MTG M15+: corner cuts can fool measurement — measure to printed frame

The 1mm rule

On a 2.5" × 3.5" card, 1mm ≈ 1.5% of width. Anything visible to the naked eye is already off a 10 candidate.

Where this fits in the X3 empire

Used by the CardPrepAI Concierge tool to pre-screen submissions. Saves customers $25-50 per off-center card they would have submitted blind.