Bleed is artwork that extends past the final trim edge of a printed page. It gives the printer a small margin for normal movement in printing and finishing, so a background image or colour can reach the edge without leaving a white sliver after trimming.
Bleed is not extra margin around the finished design. The final page is still cut at the trim size; bleed is the sacrificial area beyond it.
Trim, bleed and safe area
| Area | What it means | Design rule |
|---|---|---|
| Trim | The final cut edge of the finished piece | Set the document page size to this dimension. |
| Bleed | Extra artwork outside trim | Extend edge-to-edge objects through it. |
| Safe area | An inner buffer from the trim edge | Keep text, logos, QR codes and borders inside it. |
| Slug | Outside the bleed, for job notes or production marks | Use only when the production workflow requests it. |
How much bleed do you need?
Many commercial jobs use 3 mm bleed in metric markets or 0.125 in (1/8 in) in US workflows. Those are common conventions, not universal rules. Large-format work, packaging, books, die-cut pieces and specialised finishing can require more; some digital-print workflows specify less. Always follow the printer’s template.
Set it up in the layout application
Set the document to the final trimmed size. Enter the printer’s bleed value in the document setup, then extend every edge-to-edge object to the bleed guides. Keep important elements away from the trim edge according to the supplied safe-area guidance.
Do not enlarge a Photoshop image to make the document “include bleed” unless that raster file is being supplied as the final flat artwork. Bleed belongs to the page layout and export setup. Do not draw crop marks manually in Photoshop or Illustrator for a routine job; your layout application or the printer’s imposition workflow should create them only when requested.
Export and check the PDF
In InDesign’s PDF export, use the Marks and Bleeds settings to include the document bleed. Crop marks and registration marks are optional production marks—not a default requirement. They can interfere with imposition workflows, so include them only when the printer asks.
Before release, inspect the PDF at the trim edge. Check that backgrounds extend through the bleed and that text, borders and QR codes have enough room inside the safe area.