What is bleed in printing and how do I use it?
If you are tasked with getting print materials made for your company, you have several different options for how to get the job done. Depending on what kind of print materials your company is looking for, you will want to brainstorm with your designer to create a project that fits the needs of your business. We work closely with marketing managers and designers to ensure we are printing your materials exactly how you want them. Knowing the proper terminology for printing your projects will eliminate confusion between our teams and ensure a successful project. One common term we use in the print industry is bleed.
What is bleed?
Bleed in printing is when the design touches the edge of the material leaving no white edge. Edge to edge printing is used for different project such as business cards, magazines, books, flyers, brochures, posters, and so much more. Projects that may not need bleed include office documents or presentations.
How do you use bleed?
In order to achieve the edge to edge design of a project, you must set your document up with a minimum of .125 in of bleed and extend your artwork into the bleed marks. You will want to factor in ⅛ (.125) an inch of bleed past the edges of the document in order to avoid any misalignment or white spaces on the final document. Once design is complete, be sure to export your file with the bleed marks. This will ensure that once the document is trimmed, it will be the desired final size.
How to get the job done?
Once the designs are ready to be printed, you will want to let your printer know your document needs to be printed with bleed. From there, our team will know exactly what to do next to create a flawless end product for you.
Knowing common terminology in the print industry will eliminate any miscommunication between teams and ensures your project will be complete in a timely manner. We take pride in every single piece we print, so we want to do our best to understand what exactly your company is wanting to achieve. We hope you find this post helpful, and if you have any questions about print bleed, we would love to answer them for you!