What is a bleed?
A bleed is a printing term for postcards where the artwork goes all the way to the edges please see our printing template (click here) . You need to add 1/8th of an inch (.125 inches) of artwork on all for sides of the card. For example, if you want an 5.5×8.5 postcard with a bleed the final size of the artwork that you send us or that we design will be 5.75×8.75.
If you want your cover artwork to extend all the way to the edge of the cover (so it ‘bleeds’ off the cover), you’ll need to extend that arwork BEYOND the edge of the cover at least 1/8″. Some programs will create a bleed for you, but if you’re not sure how to do it, simply create a page size that is 1/4″ wider (1/8″ added to the right, and 1/8″ added to the left), and 1/4″ taller (1/8″ added to the top, and 1/8″ added to the bottom), and make sure you keep any TYPE at least 3/8″ away from the edges.
If you have an image that you want to print to the edge of the book, then that image “bleeds”. This is often done on book covers. For the printer to be able to trim the books so that the image is at the edge there must be some part of the image that gets trimmed off (or else you will have a white stripe of the paper showing). The amount that gets trimmed off is the “bleed”, and printers require a minimum of 1/8″ (ΒΌ” is preferable especially for children’s book pages). So, be sure that you set up your files so that you have enough image to go beyond your trim. In other words, a 6 x 9″ cover that bleeds all 3 sides on the front will really be a minimum of 6-1/8 x 9-1/4″. And a children’s book that is 8 x 8 will have pages that are 8-1/2 x 8-1/2″.
