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Centering Caliper
by Card Counter
Centering Caliper is a free card centering tool from Card Counter. Load a photo or a scan of a trading card, mark the four borders, and it reports how far the artwork sits off centre as exact left-to-right and top-to-bottom percentages, then checks those percentages against the centering tolerances published for PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, TAG and ACE grades.
It handles Pokémon cards, One Piece cards and any other bordered trading card, measures the front and the back separately, and corrects for the tilt and perspective of a handheld photo. Everything runs on your own device: card images are never uploaded, and the tool never reads location data from a photo.
On each axis the tool measures the border on one side and the border on the other, adds them, and expresses each as a percentage of that total. A card with a 1.2 mm left border and a 0.8 mm right border is 60/40 on the horizontal axis. Perfect centering is 50/50, and the larger of the two numbers is the one grading tolerances are written against. The worse of the two axes is what limits the result.
Taken from each company's own published grading standards, checked October 2026. Each figure is the largest share a border may take, front and back; ~ marks figures the company states as approximate. Treat them as directional guidance, not a guaranteed grade. Centering is also only one of four factors — corners, edges and surface can each cap a grade on their own.
Every grade from every company is set out at centering.cards/centering-standards.
Card centering is how evenly a trading card's printed design sits inside its borders. Cards are cut from large printed sheets, and any drift in that cut leaves one border wider than the one opposite it. Centering is measured as a ratio of the two opposing borders on each axis, and it is one of the four things professional graders assess, alongside corners, edges and surface.
PSA's Gem Mint 10 allows centering of approximately 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back. PSA 9 Mint allows approximately 60/40 front and 90/10 back, and PSA 8 NM-MT approximately 65/35 front and 90/10 back. Source: PSA Grading Standards. These are the company's own published standards, and several figures are stated as approximate: treat them as directional guidance, not a guaranteed grade. Centering is also only one of four factors — corners, edges and surface can each cap a grade on their own.
Beckett's Pristine 10 and Black Label share one centering standard: 50/50 all around on the front and 55/45 or better on the back. BGS 9.5 needs 55/45 both ways on the front and 60/40 on the back, and BGS 9 needs 55/45 on the front and 70/30 on the back. Source: Beckett Grading. These are the company's own published standards, and several figures are stated as approximate: treat them as directional guidance, not a guaranteed grade. Centering is also only one of four factors — corners, edges and surface can each cap a grade on their own.
CGC's Pristine 10 needs 50/50 centering overall, and Gem Mint 10 allows approximately 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back; both apply to every card type. Below that, CGC's figures at Mint 9 (60/40 on the front and 90/10 on the back), NM/Mint 8 (65/35) and Near Mint 7 (70/30) are for sports and non-sports cards only: for trading-card-game cards such as Pokémon and One Piece, those grades describe handling and manufacturing defects instead of a centering figure. Ex/NM 6 (75/25), VG/Ex+ 4.5 (85/15) and Very Good+ 3.5 (90/10) apply to every card type, TCG included. Source: CGC Cards Grading Scale. These are the company's own published standards, and several figures are stated as approximate: treat them as directional guidance, not a guaranteed grade. Centering is also only one of four factors — corners, edges and surface can each cap a grade on their own.
SGC's 10 Pristine needs 50/50 centering and its 10 Gem Mint 55/45 or better; SGC 9 Mint needs 60/40 or better. SGC gives one centering figure per grade and does not say whether it applies to the front or the back, so Centering Caliper applies it to both. Source: SGC Grading Scale. These are the company's own published standards, and several figures are stated as approximate: treat them as directional guidance, not a guaranteed grade. Centering is also only one of four factors — corners, edges and surface can each cap a grade on their own.
TAG's Pristine 10 (score 990–1000) needs about 51/49 on the front, and its Gem Mint 10 (950–989) about 55/45 on the front. TAG sets different back figures for sports and trading-card-game cards: Pristine needs about 52/48 on the back for TCG cards such as Pokémon and One Piece and about 54.5/45.5 on the back for sports cards; Gem Mint 10 needs about 65/35 on the back for TCG and 70/30 on the back for sports. Source: TAG Grading Rubric. These are the company's own published standards, and several figures are stated as approximate: treat them as directional guidance, not a guaranteed grade. Centering is also only one of four factors — corners, edges and surface can each cap a grade on their own.
ACE's Gem Mint 10 needs centering better than a 60/40 split, and ACE does not name a side, so Centering Caliper applies it to both. ACE 9 Mint needs better than 65/35 on the front and 70/30 on the back, and ACE 8 Near Mint–Mint better than 70/30 on the front and 75/25 on the back. ACE words every limit strictly, so a card exactly at 60/40 does not meet Gem Mint 10. Source: Ace Grading Scale. These are the company's own published standards, and several figures are stated as approximate: treat them as directional guidance, not a guaranteed grade. Centering is also only one of four factors — corners, edges and surface can each cap a grade on their own.
Both. PSA, BGS, CGC, TAG and ACE each set a separate, looser figure for the back than for the front at some or all grades, and a card reaches a grade only if both sides meet it. SGC is the exception: it gives one figure per grade without naming a side, and Centering Caliper applies it to both. The two faces are measured separately.
No. Images are loaded, measured and discarded in your own browser or in the app on your own device. Nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and the tool never reads the location data stored inside a photo.
Yes. The web tool is free to use and needs no account or sign-up.
Pokémon, One Piece, Magic: The Gathering, Riftbound, Yu-Gi-Oh! and sports cards each have their own guidance for where the printed frame sits — including the borderless and full-art printings that Magic and sports cards use routinely. A generic mode measures any other bordered trading card.