Bleed creation

If the printed design is intended to extend all the way to the edge, your file must be larger than the finished product. Otherwise, white edges may remain after trimming.

Add 3 mm on all four sides. This makes your document 6 mm wider and 6 mm taller than the final size. An A5 flyer (148 × 210 mm) is therefore set up as a document measuring 154 × 216 mm.

Diagram of a correctly prepared print document A print document with three marked zones: the solid orange trim line showing the final size, the hatched bleed area outside it and the white dashed safety margin inside it. The background of the design runs all the way to the outer bleed edge. 1 2 3
Example: final size 148 × 210 mm, document 154 × 216 mm. The background runs all the way to the outer edge.

  1. Trim line / final size

    The orange line shows the final size. This is where the product is trimmed after printing, allowing for a small tolerance.

  2. Bleed area

    The hatched border outside the trim line, 3 mm wide. Background areas and images have to run all the way to the outer edge, otherwise white edges are left behind after trimming.

  3. Safety margin

    The white dashed line, 3 mm inside the trim line. Text and logos belong entirely within it. For brochures and bound products, allow 6 mm.

Setting up bleed in your software

In InDesign, Illustrator and Affinity, set the page size to the final size and enter 3 mm bleed in the document settings. The extra area is then added automatically when you export the PDF. Photoshop, Canva and Word have no such setting. There you create the page 6 mm larger from the start.

In short

  • Decide on the final size: The dimensions of the finished product.
  • Add 3 mm on all four sides. The document is then 6 mm wider and 6 mm taller than the final size.
  • Run backgrounds and images all the way to the outer edge.
  • Keep text and logos at least 3 mm inside the trim line, 6 mm for brochures.
  • We do not need crop marks.