How GRADEX verifies cards by material fingerprint — what it measures, what it doesn't, and where it fits in your collection workflow.
GRADEX is a portable spectral card-authentication device for trading card collectors. It measures the material fingerprint of a card — ink chemistry, paper base, and UV response across 17 spectral dimensions — rather than just its image, and returns a risk verdict in seconds.
Dual spectral sensors — a 14-channel VIS+NIR sensor (380–1000 nm) and a 3-channel UV sensor (200–400 nm) — produce 17 spectral dimensions per reading. The firmware (v36.2) applies three stages: (1) auto-floor calibration to cancel color-temperature drift; (2) a manifold criterion that projects 12 channels onto a "paper base + pure ink" linear mixing model, judged against a 3-sigma tolerance band; (3) a dual-contact AND gate requiring both contact points (red-ball and white-ball) to pass. It returns a verdict: ✅ Genuine / ⚠️ Suspicious / ❌ Fake / ❓ Unknown.
Version-aware template libraries, never mixed across editions: P0 — International English (Millennium Print Group printing; largest circulation; a dark core is normal); P1 — Japanese (highest print quality; a dark core is abnormal); P2 — Simplified Chinese (Japanese-printed since 2024; emerging high-quality fakes). Additional series are under evaluation.
Validated on firmware v36.2 (2026-08-12): real international cards 14/14 points passed; real Chinese cards 10/10 passed; low-quality fakes rejected at both contacts; a high-quality fake that leaked through the red-ball contact was caught by the white-ball criterion in all 3 trials (1.9–4.7× over tolerance, tolerance 0.003, roughly 5× separation). GRADEX outputs a risk classification rather than an absolute verdict.
Grading services provide authoritative, slab-level assurance through expert inspection and condition grading — at $15–$100+ per card with weeks of turnaround, and your card leaves your hands. GRADEX is a verification layer for the point of trade: instant, portable, at the moment of decision. It complements professional grading; it does not replace it.
Buy-out pricing with no subscription for core authentication — scanning costs $0 per card. Reservation tiers are listed on the homepage — from $199 to $249, with no subscription.
The device runs an on-device lightweight CNN for coarse classification at the point of scan. A companion app (BLE pairing + Wi-Fi + mDNS) handles high-precision verification, history, and template updates. Template library updates are pushed over-the-air with staged rollout.
Place the sensor face against the card back at the designated contact points. The device runs the multi-wavelength measurement sequence automatically (visible light, UV, and NIR illumination per channel) and returns a verdict in seconds — one placement, time-sequenced illumination.
✅ Genuine — both contact points passed within tolerance. ⚠️ Suspicious — readings near tolerance boundaries; re-scan recommended. ❌ Fake — material fingerprint outside tolerance. ❓ Unknown — card version not in the template library (a "no verdict" rather than a wrong one).
The template library is version-specific and updated over-the-air. Because authentication measures materials — paper chemistry, ink absorption, internal core structure — rather than surface appearance, it targets what image-level fakes cannot yet reproduce. No system can guarantee 100% against future attacks; the dual-contact AND gate and tolerance bands are the defense-in-depth mechanisms.
Card-scanner form factor: 90 × 40 × 12 mm, aluminum CNC frame, glass back panel housing sensors, cameras and LEDs; dual cameras (5 MP macro at ≤3 mm working distance + 2 MP wide-angle); dual spectral sensors covering 260–1000 nm; Type-C charging and data; lanyard hole.
Deep Sleep ~20 µA (more than 6 months standby), Light Sleep ~200 µA (~70 days), active scanning ~150 mA (~2.3 hours continuous).
A multi-wavelength LED array — UV 365 nm for optical-brightener fluorescence, visible white for ink absorption edges, NIR ~850 nm for core transmission — time-sequenced per channel to prevent crosstalk, with LED–photodiode spacing ≥5 mm.
GRADEX LLC, a Wyoming (USA) domestic LLC. For inquiries: [email protected].
The crowdfunding launch timeline and shipping schedule will be announced on the official site. Reservation is available now — no payment required, with early-bird access when crowdfunding opens.
GRADEX is not yet on sale, so no returns are in progress. Once the crowdfunding campaign has funded and devices have shipped, a 30-day return window will apply from the date you receive your device. Returns will be free, with a prepaid return label. To start a return after launch, contact [email protected] with your order number. Once a returned device is received and inspected, refunds will be issued to the original payment method within 7 days. Devices must be returned in original condition with all accessories included.
GRADEX is not yet on sale. Reservations are free and no payment is collected at this stage. Once the crowdfunding campaign launches and devices are in production, orders will be fulfilled in batches, with an estimated handling time of 7–30 days from order confirmation plus 3–7 days transit time within the US. Shipping within the United States will be free. Backers will receive a tracking number by email once their reward ships. International shipping rates and availability will be confirmed at campaign launch.
The device works with a companion app; scan results and history are associated with your account. Details on data handling are described in the Privacy Policy.
No. GRADEX (getgradex.com) is a spectral card-authentication device by GRADEX LLC. Any similarly named product in a different category is an unrelated brand.
A photograph records only 3 RGB channels — enough to reproduce what a card looks like, not what it's made of. Spectral analysis measures 17 dimensions including UV fluorescence, NIR core behavior, and ink absorption edges — properties counterfeit printers cannot easily replicate. Image AI is used for identification and condition; spectral sensing is used for material verification. See the collector's guide for practical detail.
Reserve your device now — no payment required, early-bird access when crowdfunding opens.
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