Print Lines vs Centering on Modern Chrome: What Matters More?
Collectors feud about centering on Twitter; graders often downgrade surface first because print lines scream under magnification.
You cannot negotiate a line away — but you can learn to scout it fast before buying to grade.
Print Lines: Optical vs Physical
Many print lines reflect manufacturing variance. Buyers may shrug on raw; graders often won't on gem.
Raking light reveals lines parallel to rollers that disappear head-on — that optical trick separates "looks clean" from "is clean".
Centering: Market Eye vs Technical Bands
Strong centering can sell raw faster — but sloppy corners still cap grades. Prefer "dangerous symmetry": centering acceptable AND corners sharp.
Practical Inspect Order
- Surface sweep under magnification and raking light.
- Four corners next — whitening is disqualifying fast.
- Centering versus recent PSA auction photos for THAT parallel.
Grade / Skip without the Reddit guesswork
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Bottom line
On chrome, invisible surface faults beat pretty centering for grade outcomes more often than new submitters expect.
Treat both checks as mandatory, not pick-one.