TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The Importance of Bleed
- Incorrect Bleed Measurement
- How to fix (Incorrect Bleed)
- Does not require Bleed - Newspaper or Type Area only
- How to fix (Does not require Bleed)
The Importance of Bleed
In the printing industry, most products are printed onto larger paper/card sheets and then trimmed to the final size; but even with a professional paper guillotine and die cutter tools, it’s impossible to get a perfectly accurate trim on all edges of the product every time. That’s where bleed comes in. Bleed is the area of your print which extends beyond the crop marks (or the cutter guide) so that any tiny inaccuracies in the trimming process won’t show up on the finished product.
Bleed Definition: printed matter that extend beyond hte trimnmed edge of a page. The bleed area is usually 3 mm beyond the trimmed size of a page.Incorrect Bleed Measurement
Because the page layout is based on the Publisher's requirements, page size - including the bleed area - can vary between each title. Commonly, the bleed will be 3 mm all round, but this can be extended to 10 mm. To know how much bleed your artwork requires, locate the size on the publisher's specification page and beneath the trim measurement will be the bleed measurement (Example Below).
You can also download the InDesign template of the size, including the bleed area.
Any issues with the bleed measurements are flagged in the pre-flight report as the following error:
- This file does not have the correct amount of Bleed OR The BleedBox of This Ad is Not Correct. It Should Have a BleedBox of W _ x H _
How to fix (Incorrect Bleed)
Please ensure that you set your bleed to the sizes listed on Specle. Set it up by clicking on File > Document Setup and entering the correct bleed, and ensure that Use Document Bleed Settings is ticked when you export from InDesign, as this will not be ticked by default:
Does not require Bleed - Newspaper or Type Area only
Because the page layout is based on the Publisher's requirements, page size - including the bleed area - can vary between each title. Commonly, Newspaper publications generally do not require a bleed area. To know whether your artwork requires bleed, locate the size on the publisher's specification page and if no bleed information is shown, this means that bleed is not required (Example Below).
Any issues with the bleed measurements are flagged in the pre-flight report as the following error:
- Bleed Has Been Added to This Ad
How to fix (Does not require Bleed)
Please ensure that you export your ad without bleed, as this error suggests that you are either uploading a newspaper ad (they very rarely require bleed) or a type ad for a magazine. If your booked size is listed on Specle with type size only, it does not require bleed.
