A different take on centering

[Steve D]

For me, #1 is focus/registration, #2 is centering and #3 is corners/edges.

I also agree with Prince Hal regarding 1953 Bowman. I'm working on the HOFers in the set, and have been at a standstill for months, trying to find focused and centered cards of the last seven HOFers I need.


Steve

[jchcollins]

I will agree that with so much nit-picky focus on centering over the past decade plus, it's interesting to me that registration and color issues aren't highlighted more. Last year at one point I had 2 copies of a PSA 6 1967 Topps Clemente #400. One was centered very well and had perfect color and registration. The other was centered a little worse, and the image had a very light blur effect to it; Roberto's teeth had almost a 3D quality. Putting the cards side-by-side, it was a no brainer which was the more desirable card - yet they were both PSA 6's and in the absence of a comparison - the one with the worse registration would not have anything officially "remarkable" to be said about it in an auction listing. This is difficult to understand. I can tolerate an OC card or a dinged corner for a lot longer than I can a card with overall poor registration.

[Touch'EmAll]

For what is most important, I would say equal tie between centering, focus and printing (marks, dots, the color job). If all three aren't really good I won't even consider the card. I have too little money and there is too much nice stuff to buy a card that is little too "off" in a category. Now, about corners, they have to be simply decent for the grade. The corners kinda sorta have already been taken into account with the grade on the slab. But the grade on the slab doesn't always take into consideration the centering (60/40 vs 55/45 vs 50/50), focus, and factory slight print blips