They actually use different types of light including UV and infrared light to assess the condition of cards. The reason is apparently that certain damages are only visible under light of a certain wavelength.
I was wondering if this is a standard procedure applied in all grading companies (including PSA, BGS and CGC)? The reason why I am asking is, that I am worried about the UV light exposure during the grading process.
Obviously the length of UV exposure will not be that long during grading, but I’ve worked in medical research with UV light, and exposure to high intensity light of even a few seconds induced significant damage to our medical samples. I guess the short UV exposure during grading won’t noticeably fade your cards - otherwise they probably wouldn’t apply it - but in case the direct UV exposure is only done by a single company, I might try to avoid them.
Is anything about this process known from the other big companies such as PSA, BGS and CGC? Thanks!
The ink dye is a lot more stable than whatever RNA samples you work with. It would take months of exposure to cause significant damage, as mentioned in the other thread you made on this topic
Thanks for your response @pkmnflyingmaster! I got a bit worried because that company directly irradiates with UV light during the card assessment in contrast to natural light exposure indoors as we discussed in the other thread. I guess I am worrying too much about this matter, and thank you for your assessment regarding the impact of the exposure.
Maybe just me, but why would we want cards graded for damage that is only visible outside of the visible spectrum? I have not watched the video so maybe it is explained here, but that seems weird to me
I went to the CGC Academy last July. They went over the grading process.
They indeed use different lighting to assess cards.
Visual Spectral Comparator - Examine cards though special lighting and filters, like UV and Infrared to verify authenticity. They used an example of a fake that that looked real, but when you compared the waves and uv appearance to authentic cards, it’s was an obvious fake.
X-Ray Fluorescence (XFR) - gives stats on the exact makeup of the card. While people can fake an appearance of something, this will detect if the paper/ink is consistent with similar authentic cards. Such as the percentages of elements contained.
They said the x-ray is more for detecting counterfeits, and not so much for determining grade.
Wow, that is fascinating what kind of assays and technology the companies use for investigating the cards.
And good to know that it seems standard in multiple companies.