How has modern technology not fixed centering issues?

[kdailey4315]

How has modern technology not fixed centering issues yet? With this years Optics and the retro Donruss design the football cutouts on the side make centering super obvious. You can clearly see cards that have horrible centering, L-R and T-B. Is there really no technology that exists to fix this?

[RW3FAN]

Companies are cheap?

[HBMC]

Printing mass quantities of cards is not exactly time conducive to having a computer program to make sure each sheet is lined up 100% prior to it going through the roll cutters.

[kdailey4315]

Printing mass quantities of cards is not exactly time conducive to having a computer program to make sure each sheet is lined up 100% prior to it going through the roll cutters.

I can see that but I've seen enough How It's Made to assume there is some computer program and camera combo that can alleviate this. It's all timing with the paper cutter. It can be done.

[Grza]

Create rarity. If centering was *perfect* for every single card - imagine what effects that has on the grading industry and secondary markets.

To suggest it's 'too hard' for producers to make happen is silly. But to suggest they don't care to since it doesn't change their bottom line - now you're tracking.

[gamer4l1fe]

Create rarity. If centering was *perfect* for every single card - imagine what effects that has on the grading industry and secondary markets.

To suggest it's 'too hard' for producers to make happen is silly. But to suggest they don't care to since it doesn't change their bottom line - now you're tracking.

Exactly the product is still going to sell so why would they care honestly. Same example of why are some products so overpriced well because they still sell.

[JWBlue]

Create rarity. If centering was *perfect* for every single card - imagine what effects that has on the grading industry and secondary markets.

To suggest it's 'too hard' for producers to make happen is silly. But to suggest they don't care to since it doesn't change their bottom line - now you're tracking.

Yea. 100%. Technology exists to have perfect centering on every card.

Not in card companies best interests.

[HeritageKing]

Not in the grading companies best intersted

Topps already said this year's ago.

[Stifle]

Have you price checked those so called modern day machines ? There are businesses that still utilize machines from the turn of the century, and I'm talking before Y2K. Those brand new print machines that do the job extremely well are like me saying to a farmer, that new farm equipment will do the job better than the 1960's equipment that the farmer is constantly maintaining. I feel for the small farmer who has to compete with the Super large companies that can afford the newest equipment. Today's card companies have very little competition therefore why spend the money on new equipment ?

[corndog]

Most cards are trimmed (cut) from sheets of card stock. They are not cut individually but rather in loads of around 3 or 4 inches thick at a time. The cutter can be programmed for precision cuts, but the paper is stilled handled by humans. If the sheets are not jogged to the guide and gripper corner perfectly there will be randomness in centering of each card. If the sheets even slightly misguide or bounce on the feedboard headstops during printing, the centering on final trim will be off. Printing has improved over the years but it is not perfect as long as humans are involved.

[Hoop]

Not in the grading companies best intersted

Topps already said this year's ago.

How does perfect centering hurt the grading company? You are still paying them the same price if your card has 10 centering or if it has a 5

[mlbfan10]

How does perfect centering hurt the grading company? You are still paying them the same price if your card has 10 centering or if it has a 5

I think it has something to do with anytime you send in a card you are guaranteed a 9.5 or 10 centering so the market could become even more saturated with 9.5. May not hurt a grading company at all but I don't see this helping them either.