Errors and misprints
In 30 secondsSome genuine cards left the factory with a mistake: a missing word, a stray ink dot, an upside-down back. A few of these are recognised by the grading companies and become collectable in their own right. Most marks, though, are just damage or one-off printing dirt, and plenty of "misprints" sold online are fakes. The difference is whether the same error has been documented on many copies.
Error cards, pictured (normal copies, so you know where to look)
Card, pack and box images © Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK (and Wizards of the Coast for 1999-2003), shown for identification only.
"I saw a card with red dots all over the back"
Errors are never put into packs on purpose as a "wild card". They are accidents that got past quality control. A card covered in coloured dots is most often one of these:
- A make-ready card. Before a print run, the printer runs test sheets to line up the colours and inks. These can carry stray dots, colour bars or double printing. Very occasionally a test sheet gets cut and packed with the real cards. That is genuine, and rare.
- A dot error. Extra ink dots from the press. PSA only names a dot error when the dot is in the same place and shape on many copies. A one-off dot is treated as a print flaw, not a named error.
- Damage or a fake. Ink, dirt or dye added after printing, or a counterfeit. Fakes are often sold as "misprints" to explain away their faults.
How to tell: compare it with documented examples of the same card (PSA's and CGC's error guides), look at it under a magnifier (printed ink sits in the dot pattern of the print, while added marks sit on top), and if it really looks special, have it graded. A grading company label that names the error is the only proof most buyers accept.
Every vintage error PSA recognises
The last column is how many PSA has graded with that error on the label (all grades, October 2026).
| Set | Card | The error | Where to look | Graded by PSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Set | Beedrill 17/102 | Attack text reads "D.efending" instead of "Defending" | Attack text | – |
| Base Set | Blastoise 2/102 | The word "Stage" is missing | Top right | – |
| Base Set | Blastoise 2/102 | "Illus." faded or missing from the artist credit | Bottom left | – |
| Base Set | Blastoise 2/102 | A small red ink dot (some Unlimited prints) | Above the Water symbol of Hydro Pump | – |
| Base Set | Charizard, Chansey, Clefairy | A black ink dot in the same spot on many copies | Varies by card | – |
| Base Set | Clefairy 5/102 | A red heart-shaped ink mark | Front | – |
| Base Set | Diglett 47/102 | The Fighting symbol in the Dig attack is turned on its side | Attack cost | – |
| Base Set | Wartortle 42/102 | The evolution box shows Wartortle instead of Squirtle | Top left box | – |
| Base Set | Vulpix 68/102 | A blue ink dot (1st Edition or Shadowless) | Front | – |
| Base Set (Shadowless) | Ninetales 12/102 | Fire Blast is missing its 80 damage | Right of the attack | – |
| Base Set (Shadowless) | Pikachu 58/102 | "Ghost stamp": a faint, incomplete 1st Edition stamp | Left, under the picture | – |
| Base Set | Pikachu 58/102 | "Red cheeks": early prints have red cheeks, later ones yellow (a design change) | Pikachu's cheeks | – |
| Jungle | All 16 holos | One Unlimited print run has no flower set symbol | Below the picture, right | – |
| Jungle (1st Edition) | Butterfree 33/64 | The "1" in the 1st Edition stamp looks like a "d" | 1st Edition stamp | – |
| Jungle (1st Edition) | Pinsir 9/64 | A holo-like scratch across the 1st Edition stamp | 1st Edition stamp | – |
| Fossil | Haunter 6/62 | Blue ink stains spreading out of the picture | Right side | – |
| Fossil | Zapdos 15/62 | Missing foil where an evolution box was wrongly planned; a later print has "corrected foil" | Top left of the picture | – |
| Base Set 2 | Poliwrath 15/130 | A blue ink dot | Front | – |
| Team Rocket | Dark Dragonite 5/82 | The holo is missing, so it looks like the non-holo 22/82 | Picture (check the number) | – |
| Gym Heroes | Rocket's Moltres 12/132 | A black ink dot | Front | – |
| Gym Challenge | Blaine's Charizard 2/132 | Roaring Flames shows a Fighting symbol instead of Fire on 1st Edition and most Unlimited copies; a late corrected run is the rarer one | Attack cost | – |
| Neo Revelation | Ho-Oh, Celebi, Crobat, Shining Gyarados and more | "Double holo": the foil spreads outside its normal area | Picture | – |
Some of these are labelled with pictures on our error cards page. Back errors are covered on the back of the card.
The types of error, explained
Back errors
- Inverted back
- The back is printed upside down compared with the front. PSA recognises these, and they are tiny in number.
- Wrong back
- A card printed on a sheet meant for another game, such as a Magic: The Gathering back. Extremely rare, mostly vintage.
- Blank back
- No back printed at all.
- Albino back
- Only the black ink printed on the back, so most of the colour is missing (the blue border still prints). Known on some Sword & Shield era cards.
- Extra ink or debris on the back
- Splotches or dots from ink or dirt on the press. Only special when the same mark repeats on many copies.
Ink and print errors
- Dot errors
- Extra ink dots in red, blue or black. PSA only names a dot error when the same dot, in the same place and shape, is found on many copies.
- Missing colour layer
- One of the four printing inks is missing, so the colours look wrong.
- Misaligned colour layer
- One ink layer is shifted, giving a blurry or doubled look.
- Double print / make-ready
- Printed two or three times over. Often from a make-ready test sheet the printer uses to set up the colours, which slipped into packs by accident.
- Stains and streaks
- Ink running or streaking, like the Fossil Haunter stain.
Holo and foil errors
- Missing holo
- The shine was never applied.
- Incomplete holo
- The shine stops short or looks faded.
- Double holo
- The shine spreads into areas it should not, like Neo Revelation Ho-Oh.
- Holo bleed
- Shine showing through the picture. Common, and CGC does not recognise it as an error.
Cutting errors
- Miscut
- Part of the next card shows along an edge. On a minor miscut you may see half of a printer's alignment dot in a corner.
- Square corners
- The corners were never rounded. Be careful: cards cut by hand from uncut sheets look the same, so graders want proof of where a vintage square-cut card came from.
- Off-centre
- Uneven borders but nothing from the next card showing. Very common, and not usually counted as an error.
Packaging errors
- Crimped card
- The pack's heat seal pressed into the card itself. Genuine, and proves it came from a pack.
- Fold-over or paper jam
- A sheet folded or crumpled in the machine before cutting.
Go deeper: why so many fakes are sold as "misprints"
A fake card often has the wrong colours, blurry text or a strange back. Calling it a "misprint" or "error" turns its faults into a selling point. If a seller claims an error, ask which grading company recognises it and compare with documented copies. If there are no documented copies anywhere, be very careful.
Card images © Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK, shown small for identification and education only, via the open TCGdex and pokemontcg.io card databases. Not for sale or reuse. To request removal, email hello@pocketmoonstars.com and we will take it down the same day.
Sources (checked October 2026): PSA: Pokemon Error Guide · CGC: Error card types · Bulbapedia: Error cards · PSA population report (via Pikawiz)