Bleed is a term used to describe printing that extends to the edge of a page, leaving no white margin. In order for bleeds to work, an image must “bleed” off the page, usually 1/8″ beyond the crop marks. The document is printed on a larger sheet and the area that bleeds will be cut off, leaving no white margin.
If you’re creating your design with Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop, you can create bleed by adding 1/4″ to the dimensions of your document. Instead of setting up an 8.5 x 11 file, your document will be 8.75 x 11.25. But you’ll need to keep in mind that the outer 1/8″ on each side will be cut away so keep your text at least .375″ away from that outer edge.
Professional desktop publishing software, like Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress allow the user to create press-ready PDF files suitable for commercial printing. You simply add the 1/8″ bleed when you create your new document:
The image above shows a New Document dialog box in InDesign, with a .125″ bleed added to the document dimensions of 8.5 x 11. When the user exports the PDF file for printing, they will include bleeds and crop marks in the file by choosing these options:
The following image shows a document with no bleeds or crop marks, unsuitable for commercial printing:
This image shows a document with crop marks, but no bleeds (also unsuitable for commercial printing):
This image shows a properly created PDF file with bleeds and crop marks, suitable for commercial printing:
Notice that there are 2 sets of crop marks. The inner set shows where the document will be cut. The area between the 2 sets is trimmed away, leaving no white margin.
Contact us for help with technical issues you encounter when preparing your file for commercial printing. We handle issues like bleeds and crop marks with confidence.