What is bleed in printing?

What it means for your file

Printers cut many copies from one large sheet, and the blade can drift slightly. Backgrounds and images that touch the edge must run into the bleed. Text should not: keep it inside the safe area.

How to fix it

If your printer sent the file back saying “There’s no bleed,” the fix page has the step-by-step way to do it yourself, and a fixed price if you’d rather have it done.

How to fix “There’s no bleed” →

Where else it comes up

• “The file is the wrong size”
• “The text is too close to the edge”
• “The artwork doesn’t fit our dieline”
• “Please send a print-ready PDF”

Related terms

Safe area (safe zone)

The safe area is the margin inside the trim, usually at least 0.125 in (3 mm), where text and logos should stay so they are never cut off.

Trim size

The trim size is the finished size of a printed piece after it has been cut, for example 3.5 × 2 in for a US business card.

Crop marks

Crop marks are thin lines printed outside the artwork that show exactly where the sheet should be trimmed.

Dieline

A dieline is the template that shows where a label or box will be cut, folded and glued, supplied by the printer for the exact size and style.

Outlined fonts

Outlining a font converts each letter into a vector shape, so the text prints exactly as designed without the printer needing the font installed.