Professional Sports Authenticator, or PSA, began separately labeling 4th print cards on their slabs around mid-2023, marking a shift in how they handle print variations in modern trading card sets like Pokémon and sports cards to give collectors clearer info on rarity and value.
Back in the early days of card grading, PSA didn’t make much fuss over print runs. Founded in 1991, they focused on basics like centering, corners, edges, and surface quality to slap a grade from 1 to 10 on a card and seal it in a plastic slab with a simple label showing the grade, set, and card number. That label was straightforward—no room for extras like “1st print” or “4th print.” Collectors just trusted the grade and moved on, especially since most vintage cards from the 1950s or 1980s didn’t have multiple printings anyway. But as the hobby exploded in the 2010s and 2020s, with massive modern sets from Topps, Panini, and Pokémon Company printing millions of cards in waves, things got messy. A card from the “first print” run often felt rarer and fetched more cash than one from a later “4th print,” even if both looked identical raw. Buyers started complaining—they’d pop open a slab expecting a hot chase card, only to find out later it was from a super common later print.
The push for separate labeling came from collectors themselves. Online forums like Blowout Cards and Reddit’s r/PokeInvesting lit up with threads around 2022, where folks shared scans of slabbed cards revealing hidden print marks under UV light or magnification. These marks—tiny dots or symbols on the card’s back—told the print sheet number, like 1st, 2nd, up to 10th or more for sets like Pokémon’s Scarlet & Violet era or Topps Series 1 baseball. Without it on the label, resellers could flip later prints as equals to early ones, tanking trust. PSA, owned by Collectors Universe since way back, watched auctions tank for mislabeled stuff. By early 2023, they tested it quietly on Pokémon submissions. The first official slabs with “4th Print” on the label popped up in PSA’s population reports around June 2023 for Evolving Skies and later sets. It wasn’t a big announcement—no press release—just a line added to the label under the card details, like “Pokémon TCG – Sword & Shield – 4th Print.”
Why 4th print specifically? It wasn’t random. In many sets, prints 1 through 4 are the “short prints” with lower production, maybe 1-2 million packs each, while 5th and beyond flood the market at 5 million plus. For example, in Topps Chrome baseball from 2022, 1st prints had exclusive parallels that later ones skipped. PSA graders started noting it during inspection, using blacklights to spot the print dots without cracking the card open. If a card was submitted raw and showed as 4th print, the label reflected it. Crossovers—old slabs resubmitted—got relabeled too if the print was visible. This made PSA slabs more transparent than Beckett or SGC at first, who stuck to grades only. Beckett, now under the same Collectors roof after their 2025 acquisition, still doesn’t do print labels standardly, keeping their black-label focus on condition alone.
Digging into how it rolled out, PSA’s Newport Beach HQ ramped up training for graders in Q2 2023. Internal memos leaked on collector sites instructed staff to log print variants in the certification database, tying the cert number to the exact print run. Buyers could then scan the QR code on newer slabs—added around 2020 for anti-counterfeit tech—and pull up full details online, including print number. For vintage stuff like 1971 Topps with colored borders, it didn’t apply since no print variants existed. But for 2020s hits like Panini Prizm Football or Pokémon Vivid Voltage, it became standard. Population reports exploded with filters: search “PSA 10 1st Print Charizard” and you’d see pop counts under 100, versus thousands for unspecified. Auction houses like Goldin and Heritage jumped on it, listing prices separately— a PSA 9 1st print Jordan rookie might go for 20% more than a 4th print match.
Not everyone loved it at first. Some flippers griped that labeling killed hype, making 4th prints “dead money” even at PSA 10. But long-term holders cheered— it weeded out fakes and stabilized values. By 2024, over 40% of new Pokémon submissions got print-labeled, per PSA’s own cert lookup stats. Sports cards followed suit slower; baseball lagged because Topps print runs were less variant-heavy until Chrome and Update sets in 2023. Football caught on fast with Optic and Prizm waves, where 1st prints had holo patterns absent later. PSA even started bulk services for print-specific grading, charging a buck extra per card for the label add-on.
Flash to 2025 trends, and print labeling is everywhere. With sets like 2024 Topps Heritage High Number dropping March 26 and Donruss Optic Football April 11, submitters prioritize raw 1st-4th prints pulled fresh. Apps linked to auction price realized data now factor it in real-time—your phone scans a slab, spits out “Market value: $450 for 4th print PSA 8.” Counterfeiters tried faking labels early, but the holographic seals and cert verifies shut that down quick. Verify any slab by punching the cert number into PSA’s site; it shows print, grade history, and even grader notes.
For Pokémon specifically, this hit hard on promos and chase cards. Take Masaki Trade Promos from Japan—rare evos like Alakazam that needed mail-ins back in the day. Modern print variants on reprints get flagged separately, boosting true 1st print values into thousands for PSA 10s. Low pop counts on 4th prints still trade decent, but nothing like the scarcity premium. Collectors learned fast: hunt packs early in a print wave, submit quick before wear sets in.
Grading criteria ties in tight. For any print, PSA demands perfect centering (50/50 all ways), sharp corners under 10x loupe, no edge nicks, and flawless surface—no print defects like fisheyes or scratches. A 4th print card might ace that for a 10, but its label screams abundance, capping upside. Mid-grades like PSA 4s or 5s on vintage 1st prints surged in 2025, offering entry-level history without gem mint prices.
Behind the scenes, supply chains played a role in why labeling started then. Post-COVID, card printers like those for Panini faced shortages, stretching print runs into numbered waves. PSA adapted to track it, beating competitors. Beckett’s acquisition by Collectors in 2025 hinted at cross-grading potential, but for now
