What is bleed? My printer asked for it.
June 18, 2012 / Updated: June 18, 2012 / Lena Shore
Filed under: Ask Lena, Print Design
Question
What is bleed? My printer asked for it when I gave them my brochure file.
Answer
When you send your brochure to the printer, they print it on much larger pieces of paper than the finished size of your brochure. They do this for a variety of reasons:
- Printing several brochures at the same time
- Having extra paper for the press to grab onto to pull it through the press without leaving marks on your brochure
- And giving enough room for the color to go to the edge of the paper when trimmed, which is for bleed
When you put something on a press and the color runs to the edge of a piece, it must have bleed. Bleed is the part of the image that gets chopped off after printing. Bleed is usually 1/8 of an inch, but may be more depending upon the accuracy of the press.
Why do you need bleed?
You need it on a press for cutting as there is always a little shift on a press. If there were no bleed and they tried to cut it exactly where the color ended (called a butt cut), you’d have some pieces that showed white on the edges where the press was slightly off. Make sense?
LEFT: Uncut piece with bleed. RIGHT: piece trimmed out leaving bleed behind
