Repository navigation
Ink Tell Era Survey
Task ID: 6hJWCj2xqJ7X9vxw
Date: 2026-09-22
Status: partial research; canComplete: false; no pixels published
Can DeckPal distinguish normal, reverse holo, and holo cards using persistent printed features rather than momentary foil glint? This page records exploratory visual evidence, not a classifier result. Marketplace photos and catalog renderings are adequate to advance a labelled, limited hypothesis; they do not need to be authenticated or calibrated scans. Controlled, wider same-card captures are required before classifier validation.
The driver inspected six fetched public images. That is not six pairs: two manual comparisons are accepted, one each for EX and SV. e-Card and HGSS candidates were inspected but remain unresolved and count as zero. No claim is made about physical-card authenticity, all-era accuracy, or a shipping three-way rule.
SV, n=1 manual. English Scarlet & Violet—151 Caterpie 010/165 has an existing normal catalog versus labelled reverse-photo comparison. The normal’s body field appears plain green and the reverse photo has a leaf/energy pattern (F-SV-FIELD). Capture conditions differ; this does not establish a proposed lower-left white keyline. The SV set-code polarity is source-reported, not independently measured here (F-SV-SETCODE). Sources: TCGdex normal, reverse listing.
EX, n=1 manual. English Team Rocket Returns Dark Crobat 3/109 is a valid holo-versus-reverse comparison. Metadata explicitly has holo: true, normal: false, and reverse: true, so the catalog reference is holo, never normal. Matching artwork and attacks are visible, and the PSA label visibly identifies 2004 Pokémon EX #3 Dark Crobat REV. FOIL Team Rocket Returns. The reverse photo has a Team Rocket Returns logo at lower-right of the artwork that is absent from the holo reference (F-EX-STAMP); name/HP look gold in the reverse versus light in the catalog (F-EX-LETTERING). These are visible stamp/foil-lettering differences, not proof that either is illumination-invariant ink. The slab’s authenticity was not independently verified. Sources: TCGdex metadata, holo reference, reverse listing.
Arbok 035/165 (e-Card) has normal/reverse metadata but its 140px reverse thumbnail cannot resolve listing-title 31/165 versus structured 035/165. Pikachu 78/123 (HGSS) has normal/reverse metadata, but sleeve/glare, low detail, and inconsistent finish wording prevent a reliable ink comparison. Neither is a measured pair.
| Era | n | Evidence state / next needed data |
|---|---|---|
| WOTC (incl. Legendary Collection) | 0 | Taxonomy only; document counterparts and acquire normal/holo or LC normal/reverse references. |
| e-Card | 0 | Inspected Arbok unresolved; resolve number conflict at usable resolution. |
| EX | 1 | Dark Crobat holo/reverse; expand strata and capture controls. |
| DP | 0 | Acquire normal/reverse/holo references. |
| HGSS | 0 | Inspected Pikachu unresolved; resolve label and image quality. |
| BW | 0 | Sample early/late and exceptions. |
| XY | 0 | Acquire set/class-stratified counterparts. |
| SM | 0 | Acquire Pokémon, Trainer, and Energy counterparts. |
| SWSH | 0 | Acquire ordinary and special-set counterparts. |
| SV | 1 | Caterpie field observation; inspect set-code cue and add holo control. |
| Mega Evolution | 0 | Acquire exact normal/reverse/holo references. |
Bulbapedia’s Holofoil taxonomy is a secondary source used to plan strata, including EX foil/stamp treatments, the DP-through-base-BW card-background grouping, and SV set-code polarity. It is separate from the driver observations above and does not prove printed, illumination-invariant cues.
A controlled exploratory set of 3 cards and 17 normal/reverse captures produced haloDesat 8/8 within-pair, 14/17 leave-one-lighting-out, and combined ink-plus-optical 15/17 LOLO. It has no holo class and no population binding, so it is separate from the matrix: no population accuracy or holo performance follows.
Next, collect multiple same-card frames front-on/diffuse for persistent ink or keylines, angled sequences for foil response, and holo controls where printed. Historical counterparts with legitimately different collector numbers may be used only when their counterpart relationship, language, set, artwork, and variant are explicitly recorded; a different card must never be silently paired.
Last updated by Codex / Ringer on behalf of @cheyras -- 2026-09-22