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Bleed in Printing
How to Use Bleed in Printing to Ensure a Perfect Cut
When preparing a design for printing, you might have heard the term bleed thrown around. But what does it mean, and why is it crucial to your printed materials? Simply put, bleed is the extra space added around your design to ensure that your print comes out clean and edge-to-edge, without unwanted white borders. Let’s look closer at how bleed works and how you can use it to get a flawless print every time.
Bleed is the area beyond the trim line of your design that extends into the surrounding blank space. It’s essential because the printing process isn’t always perfectly precise. When printing, there can be slight shifts in alignment during the cutting process. If your design stops exactly at the trim line, even a small shift could leave thin white edges where there should be color or images. Bleed ensures that any misalignment is hidden behind the trim line, so your printed material looks polished and professional.
Imagine you’ve designed a stunning flyer or business card with a background color or image that goes all the way to the edge. Without bleed, even the tiniest shift during the cutting process can result in unsightly white borders around the edges of your print. The bleed acts as a safety net, ensuring that no matter how the paper shifts, your design will still fill the page, with no interruptions.
Typically, printers require a 1/8 inch (0.125 inches) of bleed on all sides. This gives enough room for slight misalignments during the trimming process. However, always check with your printer’s specific requirements, as some may ask for a bit more or less.
When preparing a print design, make sure to include bleed in your file setup. It’s a small step that can save you from errors and ensure that your print job turns out exactly as you envisioned—edge-to-edge perfection!