The world of trading card collecting is on the brink of a revolutionary transformation. What was once an enthusiast’s gamble on sealed packs is now being redefined by cutting-edge CT scanning technology. Imagine knowing the exact contents of a sealed Pokémon booster pack, Magic: The Gathering product, or sports card blaster box without breaking the seal. Thanks to advancements in commercial CT scanning, this futuristic concept has become a reality.
What Is CT Scanning for Trading Cards?
Industrial, a company breaking into the trading card hobby, has introduced a commercial service allowing collectors to CT scan their sealed trading card products. For $75 USD per product, collectors gain unprecedented insights into their items’ contents without opening them. This service isn’t limited to Pokémon cards but extends to other trading card games (TCGs) and sports cards, providing a proof of concept across various collectible products.
The process is straightforward:
- Contact Industrial: Email the company with details of the product you wish to scan.
- Receive a Quote: Industrial provides pricing and shipping instructions.
- Scanning: The product is scanned within 1–5 days, depending on complexity.
- Results: You receive CT scan files and software, allowing you to view and identify the cards.
The sealed product is then shipped back intact, retaining its value as an unopened collectible.
How Does It Work?
Industrial’s advanced CT scanners utilise three critical components:
- X-Ray Source: Generates highly focused X-rays for sharp imaging.
- Part Manipulator: Rotates and adjusts the product for 360° scans.
- X-Ray Detector: Captures detailed images with a resolution as fine as 3 microns.
Unlike the DIY models seen in online experiments, Industrial’s technology penetrates multiple layers of packaging—whether booster packs or elite trainer boxes (ETBs)—to identify individual cards by their texture, holographic patterns, and outlines.
Tested Products and Results
Industrial has already tested several products with intriguing results across various TCGs:
1. Pokémon Cards
Successfully identified a Garbodor VMAX within an Evolving Skies ETB through layers of packaging.
Scanned a Twilight Masquerade booster box, revealing silhouettes of rare cards like Froslass and Zapdos.
2. Sports Cards
Scanned an MLB Topps blaster box, identifying specific cards despite uneven packaging.
3. Magic: The Gathering
Successfully identified foil cards but struggled with non-holographic releases.
4. Yu-Gi-Oh!
Easily scanned a Forbidden Infinite booster box due to the prominence of foil text.
5. Other TCGs
Tested One Piece, Disney Lorcana, and Digimon products with mixed results, depending on holographic features.
Implications for the Hobby
The introduction of CT scanning is creating both excitement and ethical concerns in the trading card world. As this innovative technology becomes more accessible, it brings with it the potential to revolutionise the way collectors interact with their items, but also raises important questions about its impact on the hobby’s traditions and integrity.
Advantages:
- Verifies the contents of vintage booster packs worth thousands of dollars without breaking the seal: This is particularly significant for high-value items where the risk of tampering or fraud is a concern. Collectors can now be certain of the contents of their sealed products, eliminating guesswork and enhancing the market’s trust in the authenticity of the items being bought and sold.
- Enhances transparency and reduces risks for collectors: By allowing potential buyers to see the contents of a sealed product before purchasing, CT scanning adds a layer of transparency that can help reduce the chance of being misled or overpaying for a pack with low-value cards. This is especially useful in the secondary market, where prices can sometimes be inflated based on speculation rather than actual value.
- Prevents fraudulent activity: With CT scanning, counterfeit or tampered cards in sealed packs can be identified before they reach collectors. This would help reduce fraudulent activity, such as the practice of resealing booster packs or boxes to include lower-value cards.
Concerns:
- Could diminish the excitement of opening sealed packs, a core part of the hobby: The thrill of cracking open a fresh booster pack or elite trainer box is a central part of what makes collecting so fun for many. By making it possible to know exactly what’s inside, the experience of mystery and surprise may be lost, potentially changing the essence of the hobby.
- May lead to misuse, such as sellers cherry-picking high-value cards for profit: While CT scanning can give collectors insight into the contents of a sealed product, it also opens the door for unethical practices. Sellers may begin to scan packs and remove high-value cards, reselling the rest of the pack at a reduced price. This could undermine the integrity of the market and harm those who wish to experience the thrill of opening a sealed product.
- Could lead to a shift in the market dynamics: If CT scanning becomes widespread, it may shift the way rare cards are valued. With the ability to identify high-value cards in sealed packs, prices for such products could become inflated based on knowledge of specific cards inside. This may lead to increased competition for those looking to purchase packs containing specific cards, potentially pushing prices higher and making certain products less accessible to casual collectors.
- Risk of over-reliance on technology over traditional methods: As more collectors turn to CT scanning, there is a risk that it could overshadow traditional methods of card grading and evaluation. Some may argue that this reliance on technology could take away from the skill and knowledge that collectors have traditionally relied on to assess a product’s value.
Industrial has positioned the service as a way to enhance trust and security for collectors, not to undermine the hobby’s traditions. While there are legitimate concerns about how the technology could be misused or change the experience of collecting, its introduction also opens the door to more secure and transparent transactions in an industry that has been plagued by counterfeits and dishonest practices in the past.
Cost vs. Value
At $75 USD per scan, the service is priced in such a way that it makes sense for high-value items like vintage Pokémon booster packs or rare sports card boxes, where the potential value of the contents can far exceed the cost of scanning. For collectors of rare and valuable items, the ability to verify the contents without breaking the seal can justify the price tag, especially when the sealed product is worth thousands of dollars or more.
However, the service may not be cost-effective for lower-value items, such as modern booster packs priced around $20 USD. For collectors of more affordable or common items, the $75 fee could outweigh the benefits of knowing the specific contents, unless the collector is looking for a particular card for grading or resale. The cost-to-value ratio for these lower-end items is something collectors will need to weigh carefully.
The cost may also be difficult to justify for those collecting newer sets where cards may not have the same historical significance or value as vintage items. As demand grows for CT scanning, pricing models may need to evolve, possibly offering more affordable packages or tiered pricing based on the product’s value or complexity.
In addition to scanning, Industrial plans to introduce certification and serialization services, which would add further value to the service. These services would create a secure, verifiable database for scanned products, allowing collectors to track and authenticate their items in the future. With certification, a collector could confidently prove the authenticity of their product, adding to its resale value. Serialization would give each scanned product a unique identifier, further enhancing security and ensuring that items cannot be tampered with once scanned.
Together, these features could transform how collectors view the long-term value of their investments, especially in terms of insurance or resale markets. However, the true potential of these services will depend on how widely adopted they become in the broader collectible community.
The Future of CT Scanning in Trading Cards
Though the technology is still in its infancy, its potential is already evident. As CT scanning continues to evolve, we can expect even greater advancements. Future iterations of CT scanners could offer increased resolution, allowing for even more precise identification of individual cards, including those with intricate holographic details or minute printing variations. Additionally, advanced identification algorithms could make it possible to not only identify specific cards but also detect any subtle imperfections, such as misprints or factory errors, which are highly prized in the collector community.
As CT scanning technology becomes more accessible and cost-effective, it could become a standard tool for collectors and dealers alike. For example, it’s possible that in the near future, affordable at-home CT scanning options could be developed, allowing hobbyists to scan their own collections without relying on third-party services. This would democratize the process and make it easier for collectors of all levels to verify and preserve their collections.
Moreover, the development of AI-driven scanning could lead to even faster and more accurate scans, providing real-time results that are not only highly detailed but also able to predict the potential value of a given card based on historical trends, rarity, and demand.
For now, CT scanning represents a revolutionary leap forward for trading card collectors. It opens up new ways to authenticate items, preserve their condition, and engage with the hobby in ways that were previously impossible. As the technology matures, it could fundamentally reshape how collectors approach buying, selling, and trading cards. Rather than relying on intuition and physical examination alone, collectors may soon have access to objective, data-driven insights that enhance their decision-making.
While the possibilities are exciting, there’s also the question of how widely it will be adopted. Will it become an essential part of every collector’s toolkit, or will traditional methods of grading and packaging continue to hold sway? As the debate unfolds, one thing is certain: the world of trading cards will never be the same.