NOVELTY - Making a gasketed membrane electrode assembly includes: selecting fluid transport material and target level of compression for fluid transport material; measuring pressure at which fluid transport material achieves target level of compression; positioning membrane electrode assembly between platens of press; depositing gasket material in outer edges of anode and cathode faces; compressing membrane electrode assembly; and fixing gasket material.    USE - Making gasketed membrane electrode assembly useful in fuel cell (claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The resulting MEA achieves optimal compression of the fluid transport layer of MEA during use in a fuel cell stack under a wide range of applied pressure and in spite of variation in fluid transport layer thickness.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Making a gasketed fuel cell membrane electrode assembly (MEA) includes:    (a) selecting a fluid transport layer material;    (b) selecting Ct% for the fluid transport layer material (where C% is compression in thickness of the fluid transport layer material as a percentage of uncompressed thickness and Ct% is the target level of C% during use of the fluid-transport layer material in a fuel-cell MEA);    (c) measuring pressure Pt for which the fluid transport layer material achieves compression of Ct %; and    (d) positioning MEA between platens (30, 31) of a press.    The MEA comprises:    (a) a polymer electrolyte membrane (1) having an anode face with outer edge portion, a cathode face with outer edge portion and an outer perimeter;    (b) an anode catalyst material in contact with a portion of the anode face;    (c) a cathode catalyst material in contact with a portion of the cathode face;    (d) an anode-side fluid transport layer (2) in contact with the layer of anode catalyst material but not extending over the outer edge portion of the anode side;    (e) a cathode-side fluid transport layer (3) in contact with the layer of cathode catalyst material but not extending over the outer edge portion of the cathode side.    The anode-side and cathode-side fluid transport layer comprises the fluid transport layer material. Gasket material (10) is deposited in the outer edge portions of anode and cathode faces of polymer electrolyte membrane. The MEA is compressed to a pressing pressure Pp that is 90-110% of Pt and the gasket material is fixed to form a gasketed fuel cell MEA.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure is a cross-section of the MEA.    Polymer electrolyte membrane (1)    Anode-side and cathode-side fluid transport layers (2, 3)    Gasket material (10)    Patterning plates (20, 21)    Raised-ridge microstructured contact pattern (22, 23)    Press platens (30, 31)