Print Bleed Guide
Understanding bleed is essential for professional printing. Learn how to set up your artwork correctly to avoid white edges on your club flyers.
What is Bleed?
Bleed is the area of your design that extends beyond the final trim size of your printed piece. It is the extra margin that gets trimmed off during the cutting process.
When thousands of flyers are cut at once, slight variations can occur. Bleed ensures that any background colors, images, or design elements that are meant to reach the edge of the page do so cleanly, without leaving any unintended white borders.
Standard Bleed Size
Understanding the Zones
BLEED AREA (0.125")
TRIM LINE (Final Size)
SAFE ZONE (0.125" inside)
Keep all important text and logos here
Gets trimmed off. Extend backgrounds here.
Where the paper is cut. Your final size.
Keep important content here to avoid being cut.
Bleed Requirements by Product Size
| Product | Trim Size | With Bleed | Bleed Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x6 Flyer | 4" x 6" | 4.25" x 6.25" | 0.125" each side |
| 4.25x5.5 Flyer | 4.25" x 5.5" | 4.5" x 5.75" | 0.125" each side |
| 5.5x8.5 Flyer | 5.5" x 8.5" | 5.75" x 8.75" | 0.125" each side |
| Business Card | 3.5" x 2" | 3.75" x 2.25" | 0.125" each side |
| 4x6 Postcard | 4" x 6" | 4.25" x 6.25" | 0.125" each side |
Common Bleed Mistakes to Avoid
This results in white edges around your flyers when cut.
Bleed must extend equally on all four sides.
Keep text at least 0.125" from the trim line to avoid being cut off.
If you have a border, it needs to extend into the bleed area.
Best Practices
In Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign, set your document to the trim size and add 0.125" bleed in the document settings.
Any color, image, or design element that touches the trim line should extend the full 0.125" into the bleed area.
Create guides 0.125" inside the trim line to remind yourself where text and important elements should stay.
When saving your PDF, include bleed marks and crop marks so we know exactly where to cut.
Important
Related Guides
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Now that you understand bleed, you are ready to create print-ready artwork for your club flyers.
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