I just got a relatively new CERT Japanese card and it’s in a very different more heavy / sturdy slab. I also just got a back some English cards from PSA and they are the normal older slabs. So has PSA introduced the new slabs only in their Japanese grading facility?
Huge difference in feel.
Mike
Yeah they’re about 20% heavier and have a good difference in clarity.
They’ve been using them since around 93xxxxxx in Japan, and I’ve been seeing them used more and more at PSA US in the last few weeks.
I stopped grading earlier this year. Have they really rolled out here in the US?? (the same case used in Jp)
Big if true.
I just got a 20 card submission back a couple weeks ago. All were in the old holders.
Mike
My last few submissions have had half half new/old holders. All Pokemon TCG so not oversized cards etc.
For reference here’s similar inquiry I made almost one year ago. 
The new JPN slabs feel wonderful! I will be reholdering many of my cards once the US starts switching to the newer slabs.
Some observation here. The new holders don’t work well with Plastx. Seems to leave some form of “lines” from the buffing.
I also noticed the Japanese slab I have is thinner in width than the normal US ones I have. Not sure if you guys have noticed that too as it’s only by like a mm.
I’m facing this same exact issue. PlastX just doesn’t seem to work well with the new holder.
Doesn’t even buff out the scratches well (or if at all) and leaves behind a fine circular microscratch.
Anyone here found a solution? I have heard of other plastic polishes like Novus which may potentially work better for this new plastic composition. But never got to try.
We just might have to go the reholder route going forward 
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Some psa slabs are tougher to crack than others. I don’t remember if it was a Japanese card or not, but how I crack slabs I noticed the plastic being more bendy/softer than harder/shattering, which made it harder to crack a card out. Point being, If i were to keep a card slabbed, id prefer the tougher one
the ones from psa japan dont have the nipple thing at the bottom… that totally weirded me out at first
Yes. No matter how I buff with PlastX the micro scratches on the new Psa slab just gets worse. Seems like best is to leave the new slab untouched.
I believe @haytertcg made a video (?) documenting the difficulty of cracking newer jp slabs.
was just on my instagram story.
best method seems to be using tile nippers and clipping off the border all the way around
that’s a little disappointing. I haven’t had to try using PlastX yet as they do seem significantly more resistant to microscratches in general.. I’m sure someone will find a solution
Yeah would suggest to refrain from PlastX at all if it’s the new holder. Something about the new plastic composition. The liquid solution also behaves differently on the surface as compared to an old style case.
Hope someone will find another method eventually, as you said.