Complete guide to creating files with bleed. Concept and Practice

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Gustavo Baner

Team ColorCopiesUSA.com
info@colorcopiesusa.com
1-877-421-0668

Date Published: 2020-03-01// Updated: 2020-07-29

Topic: File Preparation

Why did we develop this complete guide to the preparation of files to print with bleed?

Having worked with thousands of business owners and their creative teams, we know that this topic is important. Bleed is one of the topics that more headaches create for anyone producing artwork for print. As opposed to artwork for web, files for print output require some additional considerations. In this article, we will focus on the preparation of bleed. This is a guide that is as complete as possible. Different software tools operate differently so you might still need to research specific actions for each design tool.

In a previous article, we explained what is bleed. Please check that article that is part of the Technical Knowlege section within the Printing Academy index. Here is a link to that article "What is Full Bleed in Printing"?

A quick overview of what is required to have a printed piece that bleeds

To reintroduce the concept of bleed and understand what is required in a file, we will start with an example.
The image displayed below shows a sheet (there is a white background to it) on top of which, a  picture of a landscape is printed. The trim/crop/cut (all three names are equivalent in this application) marks are shown as well. 

The final size of this printed sheet is set to be as follows:  8.5" wide x 11" tall. 
It is clear from this image, that the piece has to be printed in a sheet that is larger than the 8.5"x11", only to be trimmed. In this case, the size of the sheet is at least 9"x12" so that there is enough space to print the trim marks. The printed piece itself is in this case 8.75"x11.25".

On the picture, you see that the printed picture extends beyond the trim marks.
Why does the image go beyond the expected trimmed size? Because if it was not set like this, once the paper is trimmed, a thread of white paper might still be visible. As every other manufacturing process, there are variabilities that we have to account for. 

Setting up the Microsoft Word and Adobe Illustrator to create a file with bleed.
How to fill in the dialog boxes in different platforms. What to input?

Many graphic artists will use Adobe tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator. A good number of other creatives will use other tools such as Microsoft Word, that don't require a steep learning curve. We will show a couple of examples in a couple of software design platforms how to set those files so that you can create a file with bleed and trim marks.

Step #1 - How to determine the full size of the image to be printed

Our experience tells us that if the area beyond final size of the piece is 0.125" (in fractional notation, it is 1/8") on each side,that is enough extra-printing to prevent white from showing-up

Tip: Never do this to solve the lack of bleed in your artwork:

What's the biggest error some designers do?: Stretch the image to artificially create bleed.     This is a mistake because stretching the image will result in part of the image being in the bleed area that will eventually be trimmed. Trimming removes part of the image so it results in a final piece that is different to what was expected.
Often times the copy gets to bee too close to the edges or can even lose an important portion of the document

Step #2 - How to set up these values in the graphic design software?

We will show the process for the following two design platforms:

A - Adobe Illustrator   / B - Microsoft Word

Adobe Illustrator

AI - Illustrator:  Create a New Document in Illustrator. 

This is a screenshot of Adobe Illustrtor's CC2020 version. In this case the main size is the size of the final trimmed sheet. When you select bleed, and input the size of it, it will show the bleed area once the document is created (next slide). For the example that we are considering, the size is 8.5"x11". The bleed box should receive a value of 0.125"

AI Adobe Illustrator:   This is what the artboard should look like.

The area between the white rectangle (which is the final printed document) and the red line, is the area where the extended content is to be placed. That is the bleed area. In this case, we are marking the bleed area with those diagonal black lines just to bring awareness. When you are ready to output the document, make sure to select the bleed as part of the output.

Microsoft Word

As the versions of this popular software evolved, so did the menu organization. Therefore some options might be in a different place in your version of the software. In this case, we are referring to the 2020 version of Office 365.

1. The following screenshots and captions should help you to create your document. 

Step #1 - Create a New Word Document - 

This sequence is based on the 2020  Microsoft Office 365 Word platform. Start a new document

Step #2 - In "Layout" menu, choose Size

In the Layout menu, click on SIZE. Select "MORE PAPER SIZES" because the size that you want is not standard 

Step #3 - in Page Setup, choose CUSTOM SIZE

Choose the CUSTOM SIZE option in the Paper Size. If you just input the size that you want to get, it will turn into Custom Size by itself in any case

Step #4 - Assign the Width and Height and press OK

The dimensions to input are the dimensions of your final size piece, plus the amount of space left for bleed. Microsoft Word does not handle the concept of bleed, so we need to create a document that is oversize and includes the area of bleed. This is a way to force the software to do what we need.

- Step #5 - Under the "Layout" menu select "Margins" and "Custom Margins"

Once the size has been assigned, we need to select the margins. By following this step, you will have a whole are for your design, plus the bleed area, where you can drop background images 

- Step #6 - Set the margins as indicated and press OK

The value of 0.125 comes from the amount of "extra image" that we agreed to have so that we could have a printed piece that does not have the risk of showing white paper 

- Step #7 - Word might think that your are making a mistake, but it's OK. Just IGNORE

Margins are usually within the boundaries on the paper, not on the limit. In this case, we use the margins to make it clear which areas are in the bleed zone. 

- Step #8 - This is what your artboard should look

See that the ruler displays, in white background, the dimensions of 8.5" and 11". The gray area in those rulers will be the area with bleed.

- Step #9 - The yellow square will contain the artwork that will be delivered to you.

Whatever information you insert in the outer white areas, will ultimately be trimmed. If you want a yellow background as in this slide, you will have to extend the yellow to cover all of the white area, but you will need to be careful to place your text boxes and images in the right  places. That might require that you play with the tabs on the top ruler to center your copy.

- Step #10 - Export as a PDF: This is what you should get

Once your document is ready, save it as PDF. Your document will have the size that was determined. 

Conclusion:

Creating files that should print with bleed requires some care
Most clients are challenged by the preparation needs and decide to create documents with a white border instead. In doing so, they are probably losing some potential in terms of the quality of engagement that the piece could create

If your creative teamis havinga hard time, ColorCopiesUSA.com a team of creatives that can produce a full bleed piece that matches your expectations.

Just feel free to call us at 1-877-421-0668