Free tool
Add bleed and crop marks to a PDF
Printer says your file has no bleed? Drop in the PDF and get it back with bleed on every side, the trim set, and crop marks if you want them. It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer.
files given bleed so far
Drop a PDF above to see it with bleed.
What happens to the file
- Each page is kept as it is. Text stays text and vectors stay vector; nothing is flattened or turned into an image.
- The bleed is filled from the page’s own edges, mirrored or stretched, and the corners filled to match.
- The trim and bleed are set in the file, as its trim box and bleed box, which is what printers’ software reads.
- Crop marks, if you tick the box, go at each corner in registration color, outside the bleed, so they never print on the piece.
Not sure what else is wrong with the file? Run it through the print-ready file checker first. Starting a new design? The print template maker gives you the right size with bleed from the start.
Questions
What does this tool do to my PDF?
It places each page, unchanged, in the middle of a page that is bigger by the bleed on every side, then fills that extra strip from the page’s own edges. It marks the original size as the trim box, so printers know where to cut, and can add crop marks. Text, vectors and images stay exactly as they were.
Mirror or stretch: which should I use?
Mirror reflects the strip along each edge outwards, so photos, patterns and textures carry on naturally. Stretch smears the very edge across the bleed, which suits flat colors and gradients and never shows a reflected shape. If a photo runs off the edge, use mirror. If something sits right on the edge, stretch usually hides it better.
Will it fix text that is too close to the edge?
No. It can only copy what is already at the edge; it can’t move anything. If text or a logo touches the trim, a copy of it ends up in the bleed. That part is cut off, but the original is still too close to the edge. Move it inside the safe area in your design, or have us fix it.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The PDF is read and rebuilt inside your browser, and the new file is saved straight from it. Nothing about the file is sent to us. We count that the tool was used, for the monthly limit, and your dashboard notes the bleed settings you used. Never the file or its name.
Do I need an account?
Yes, a free one: sign in with Google or an email link, with no password to remember. It asks when you drop in your PDF, then carries on with that same file.
My PDF already includes bleed but has no trim box. What do I do?
Choose “A size I type in” and enter the finished size. The tool treats that size, centred on the page, as the trim, and only adds what is missing. If the file has a trim box and enough real bleed around it, that bleed is kept as it is.
How much bleed should I add?
0.125 inch (1/8 inch) is the standard in the US, and 3 mm in most other countries. Large-format printers sometimes ask for more, such as 0.5 inch on banners. Use the number your printer gives you.
Printer messages this helps with
- “There’s no bleed”: Bleed is extra artwork that runs past the edge of the page, usually 0.125 in (3 mm) on every side, so nothing white shows when the printer trims the sheet.
- “The PDF has no trim box”: A PDF stores the finished size of each page in a trim box, and the size with bleed in a bleed box.
- “Please remove the crop marks”: Many online printers want the PDF at the trim size plus bleed and nothing else: no crop marks, color bars or page information around the outside.
- “The text is too close to the edge”: Anything important (text, logos, phone numbers) needs to sit at least 0.125 in (3 mm) inside the trimmed edge, an area called the safe zone or safe area.
- “Please send a print-ready PDF”: Printers ask for a PDF because it fixes everything in place: the size, fonts, images and colors come out the same on their system as on yours.
- “Lulu gave me a bleed warning”: Lulu looks for pages that are your book’s trim size plus 0.125 in (3.18 mm) on every side.
Rather have it done? Print file fixing, Business cards & stationery or Flyers, menus & brochures, at a fixed price.
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Text right on the edge? We’ll fix it.
We add real bleed and move anything too close to the trim, usually the same day, at a fixed price.