With Pokémon, the card name is rarely the whole answer. The same name can appear across several sets and may also exist as Non-Holo, Holo, or Reverse Holo. A useful scanning workflow therefore separates two decisions: Which printing is this? And which variant do you actually own?
The current Pokémon workflow in TCG Actana supports English and German cards. The app prepares possible matches from your scans or photos, while you confirm the details that cannot be settled safely from one image.
Identify the printing first
Choose Pokémon and the card languages you want to use before importing a batch. You can select English or German directly. With Automatic, Actana distinguishes between the enabled Pokémon languages.
Use these details to verify a printing:
- Set and set symbol
- Collector number
- Card language
- Other printed edition marks
A readable collector number often narrows the result considerably. If several similar printings remain, Actana keeps the card in review. Compare the artwork, set symbol, and details along the bottom edge with the physical copy before choosing one.
Choose the variant afterwards
The correct printing does not automatically tell you which variant you own. Actana cannot reliably determine a card’s shine from an ordinary image. You therefore choose whether the copy should be recorded as Non-Holo, Holo, Reverse Holo, or another variant listed for that printing.
The variant control shows the available choices for that printing. You can also set Reverse Holo manually when needed, while special editions such as 1st Edition only appear where they are recorded for the selected printing. The physical card remains the deciding evidence.
This is not a second card search. Printing and variant are checked one after the other on the same result, helping you avoid saving the right card with the wrong finish.
Make the small details readable
Use a complete, sharp image whenever possible. Keep the name, border, set symbol, and collector number visible. Even lighting matters on Holo cards because glare can cover the exact detail that separates one printing from another.
You can choose finished image files, drag them into the Scan view, or watch the output folder used by your scanner. Experimental multi-card input is also available, but each separated card needs careful review. The general guide to getting scans and photos into TCG Actana explains the input options in more detail.
Grade the physical copy, not the image
Condition is also your decision. Fine scratches, dents, and damage on the back may not appear in a single scan, so inspect the card in hand before adding the batch.
Once the printing, language, variant, condition, and quantity are correct, save the cards to your collection. You can search by name, set abbreviation, or collector number and filter the collection by details such as game and language. Available market values are reference points for the recorded printing and variant, not guaranteed sale prices.
A useful first batch
Start with a small group that includes real differences:
- one English and one German card
- cards from more than one set
- one Holo and one Reverse Holo
- two similar-looking printings, if you have them
That batch introduces the parts of the Pokémon workflow where your judgement matters. Continue with how to organise, filter, and search a large card collection, or see how four TCGs fit into one collection.