Bleed
When it comes to professional printing, “bleed” is an essential concept that ensures your designs look polished and without any unwanted borders. Bleed refers to the area of your print that extends beyond the final cut edge of your document. It prevents any unsightly white edges from showing on your finished product due to slight shifts during the cutting process.
Why Is Bleed Important?
Imagine you’ve designed a flyer with a background color or image that stretches to the edge. Without adding bleed, the cutting machine might not align perfectly with the edge, leaving thin white margins along the border. By adding bleed, you ensure the background extends fully to the edge of the page, maintaining a clean, professional look.
How Much Bleed Do I Need?
For most printing projects, we recommend a standard bleed area of 0.125 inches (3mm) on all sides of your document. This means that if your finished flyer is 8.5″ x 11″, the file you submit should be 8.75″ x 11.25″ to include the bleed area.
Setting Up Bleed In Different Software
While the concept of bleed is the same in any software, the actual process can differ from one to the next. Below you can see how to set up bleed in several different programs.
Adobe Illustrator
Watch the video below or click here to see a written description on how to add bleed in Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe InDesign
Watch the video below or click here to see a written description on how to add bleed in Adobe InDesign.
Adobe Photoshop
Watch the video below or click here to see a written description on how to add bleed in Adobe Photoshop.
Canva
Watch the video below or click here to see a written description on how to add bleed in Canva.