PSA Printing Defects and Variations 2

Question 1

What is a miscut card and how does PSA handle it during grading?

Accepted Answer

A card cut off-center or at an angle during manufacturing, noted with an MC qualifier while still receiving a numeric grade

Answer

A card where the image was printed upside down

Answer

A card with missing ink in part of the design

Answer

A card where the front and back images are misaligned

Question 2

What is a double print in baseball card production and how is it relevant to collectors?

Accepted Answer

A card that was printed twice as often as other cards in the same series, resulting in greater availability

Answer

A card printed on both sides of the paper stock

Answer

A card with a visible double image from the printing press

Answer

A card produced in two different color schemes

Question 3

What is a color shift printing defect on a trading card?

Accepted Answer

A misalignment of one or more color printing layers, causing colors to appear offset from their correct position

Answer

A card intentionally printed in alternate team colors

Answer

A card where the photo was taken with incorrect lighting

Answer

A card where the colors fade from one side to the other

Question 4

What distinguishes a rookie variation from a printing variation in the trading card market?

Accepted Answer

A rookie variation refers to different versions of a first-year player's card intentionally produced; a printing variation is an unintentional production anomaly

Answer

They are identical terms used interchangeably

Answer

Printing variations can only occur on vintage cards

Answer

Rookie variations are graded by PSA while printing variations are not

Question 5

PSA uses the ST qualifier on graded cards. What does ST stand for?

Accepted Answer

Stain

Answer

Strong Toning

Answer

Surface Treatment

Answer

Short Print Type

Question 6

What is an error card in trading card production, and why are some considered valuable?

Accepted Answer

Cards where incorrect information was printed before correction, creating an unintentional first version that may be rarer than the corrected version

Answer

Cards with factory-applied security marks

Answer

Cards rejected by PSA for quality issues

Answer

Cards printed with intentionally wrong statistics to prevent copying