Bleed is artwork that runs past the edge of your finished piece. Printed sheets are cut in stacks, and a tiny amount of movement is normal. Without bleed, that movement leaves a thin white line along an edge. With bleed, the cut lands on colour either way.
The numbers to use
- Bleed: 3mm on all four edges.
- Safe margin: keep text and logos at least 4mm inside the trim line.
- Document size: the finished size plus 6mm in each direction. A business card that finishes at 90 × 55mm is built at 96 × 61mm.
Our print-ready templates are already built to these numbers, with the trim line and safe margin drawn in.
What goes in the bleed
Only background. Extend colour, photos and patterns right to the edge of the bleed area. Do not put text or logos there, and do not leave a white border: anything inside the bleed that is not meant to be trimmed off is wasted. If your design has no background colour or images touching the edge, you do not need bleed at all.
InDesign
- File > Document Setup, enter the finished size as the page size.
- Click More Options and type 3mm into Bleed (the chain icon links all four sides).
- Drag background shapes and images out to the red bleed line.
- Export: File > Export > Adobe PDF (Print), then in the Marks and Bleeds tab tick Use Document Bleed Settings. Leave crop marks off unless you were asked for them.
Illustrator
- File > Document Setup, enter the finished size, and set Bleed to 3mm on all sides.
- Extend background artwork to the red bleed line.
- Save as PDF and use the Marks and Bleeds tab to tick Use Document Bleed Settings.
Canva
- Design at the finished size (Custom size).
- Turn on the print bleed view from the File menu, then extend backgrounds to the bleed edge.
- Download as PDF Print and tick the crop marks and bleed option.
Canva changes its menus from time to time. If you cannot find these options, the safe route is to make your design 6mm bigger in each direction and download a PDF Print at that size.
Word and PowerPoint
Neither has a real bleed setting. Make the page 6mm bigger in each direction than your finished size (for an A5 flyer, 160 × 222mm), extend backgrounds to the page edge, and keep text well inside. Export as PDF at that size.
Check it before you pay
Upload your PDF to the free file check on the homepage. It reads your file's real size and tells you if the bleed is missing or the wrong size, before you order. The print-ready PDF checklist covers the other seven things worth checking.