{"id":780,"date":"2019-07-05T22:28:04","date_gmt":"2019-07-05T22:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/?p=780"},"modified":"2025-07-30T18:43:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:43:24","slug":"full-bleed-design-how-to-properly-design-bleeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/full-bleed-design-how-to-properly-design-bleeds","title":{"rendered":"Full Bleed Design: How to Properly Design for Full Bleed Printing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Improper design of full bleed is the number 1 cause of delays <\/strong>when customers order prints from a company. It is essential for the customer to know what full bleed is, and more importantly, how to properly design for full bleed printing, when ordering. But what does bleed mean? This blog post was written to quickly and simply outline and explain to customers in detail what a full bleed design is and the necessities of designing for a full bleed project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Need help? Please do not hesitate to call Printivity at <a href=\"tel:18776495463\">1-877-649-5463<\/a>. The helpful representatives will be more than happy to assist in any full bleed problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t have the time to fix it yourself? Printivity offers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/design-services\">Graphic Design Services <\/a>to help you with design obstacles from fixing full bleed or creating your design from scratch. Our professional graphic design team will take care of you every step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/landing\/insights\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" height=\"256\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/BannerPostcards-1024x256.png?resize=1024%2C256&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Get 20% off your first order at Printivity banner ad\" class=\"wp-image-2647\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Full Bleed Printing<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Printing to the edge of the paper with no margins<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Design for full bleed<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Two important rules<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Add bleeds \u2013 extend the design dimension size 1\/8\u2033 on all sides.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Account for bleed line safety margins \u2014 no critical text or images within the safety margins<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Products with full bleed or can be added on<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Common mistakes when designing for full bleed<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adding a white border as the \u201cbleeds\u201d of the design.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Putting critical text in the safety margin and\/or full bleed area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expanding the file to increase the dimensions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adding cut marks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Design dimension chart<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Policy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It is incredibly important for Printivity\u2019s file check department to receive properly designed files to guarantee a quality and timely production for an order. Turnaround times for orders placed on the site assume that submitted files are designed correctly. <strong>Incorrectly designed files, including files not designed properly for full bleed, will delay an order.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Full Bleed Printing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Full bleed printing is printing to the edge of the paper so the final result has no margins.<\/strong>  When you use this style of printing, a graphic or image expands to the absolute edge of the page with no border or white space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a file is not prepared for full bleed or is not requested to be printed full bleed, there will be a 1\/8\u2033 white border margin on all sides of the finished product. An example of a printout with no bleeds and full bleed can be shown in the example flyer below.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/FBvsNFB_edited.jpg?ssl=1\" alt=\"The left image is a not bleed file and has a one eighth inch margin. The right image is full bleed and has no margins.\" class=\"wp-image-889\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">            No Bleeds &#8211; 1\/8&#8243; Margin                                           Full Bleed &#8211; No Margins<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>However, files that are to be printed with full bleed images (no margins) need to be specifically designed for full bleed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Designing for full bleed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When designing for full bleed, the design must have \u201cbleeds\u201d and \u201csafety margins\u201d (safety margins will be explained later). But first, what products automatically come with full bleed and what ones are automatically no-full bleed? We address this question below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Full Bleed or No-Full Bleed Products: Which Options Automatically Feature Full Bleed Designs?&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Some print products automatically come with full bleed. The price of full bleed is built into the cost, so take advantage of this and design for full bleed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/books\/perfect-bound-books\">Perfect Bound Book Printing<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/booklets\/saddle-stitched-booklets\">Saddle Stitch Booklet Printing<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/business-cards\">Business Cards<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/marketing\/postcards\">Postcards<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/marketing\/folders\">Pocket Folder<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/marketing\/brochures\">Brochure<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Other products do not automatically come with full bleed and will need to be added on for an additional cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/copies\/color-copies\">Color Copies<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/copies\/black-and-white-copies\">Black and White Copies<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/booklets\/spiral-bound-booklets\">Spiral Binding<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/booklets\/wire-o-booklets\">Wire Bound Book Printing<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/signage\/mini-posters\">Mini Posters<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>How much bleed for print?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The bleed is the extension of the print by 1\/8\u2033 (0.125\u2033) on all sides of a document<\/strong> that won\u2019t be in the final printed product. Therefore, if an 8.5\u2033 x 11\u2033 document with no margins was desired, the designed file must be 8.75\u2033 x 11.25\u2033.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An example of the above flyer with no margins that was originally designed as 8.75\u2033 x 11.25\u2033 with 1\/8\u2033 bleeds on all sides is shown below. The area outside of the dotted red lines is the bleed of the image.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/FBvsfinalcut2_edited.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"Properly designed files for full bleed printing are 8.75&quot; x 11.25&quot; then is cut down to the final dimension (8.5&quot; x 11). \" class=\"wp-image-890\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Properly designed file with bleeds before printing (left).       Printed file with no margins after printing and final cut (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The reason for extending the design 1\/8\u2033 on all sides for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/full-bleed-versus-no-bleed-printing\">full bleed<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The most common mistake when customers submit files they want to print full bleed with no margins is submitting a digital file that is designed with the same dimension as the desired printed file (e.g. submitting an 8.5\u2033 x 11\u2033 digital file to be printed as 8.5\u2033 x 11\u2033 with no margins). These customers typically ask \u201cwhy do I need the extra 1\/8\u2033 addedto achieve a full bleed design?\u201d The reason why is twofold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">All printers have a very slight print shift when printing a file.&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, the document that\u2019s being printed needs to be printed on a larger sheet of paper so the printer can print the full dimension of the document without having to worry about very minor shifting errors. Since the printer prints on a larger sheet of paper, the paper needs to be cut to the proper dimension of the file. Without a larger sheet of paper, the resulting print edges might have white slivers, in lieu of continuous color, after cutting. This is essential for materials like artwork and posters.  Therefore <strong>there needs to be 1\/8\u2033 bleeds in order to account for standard print shifts so no white slivers show after the cutting process. <\/strong>The dotted red lines in the full bleed size for printing 8.75\u2033 x 11.25\u2033example picture above are the cut mark lines.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/FinalCut3_edited.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"Once the full bleed file is printed, it will include the full bleed design and a white border. Then the sheets will be cut by a guillotine paper cutter which will cut off the white border and bleeds.\" class=\"wp-image-891\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Printed pages will be trimmed on the red dotted line (left).  Once printed, a guillotine paper cutter will trim off the excess white margin and the bleeds (right). Since the bleeds extend beyond the cut line, there will be no possibility of white slivers near the edges <em>with proper bleed printing.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Account for bleed printing safety margins \u2014 no critical text or images within the safety margins<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Safety margins are 1\/8\u2033 margins inside the cut line of a design. <\/strong>The safety margin area is between the orange and red dotted lines. The safety margin area is the space in the main print area that runs the risk of being cut due to the error tolerance of the print shift. No critical text or images that must be on the printed document can be in the safety margin area because they run the risk of being cut.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/SafetyMargin4_edited.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"When designing for full bleed, customers will also need to design for the safety margin. The safety margin is an additional one eighth inch from the final dimension. \" class=\"wp-image-892\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When designing the file, make sure there is no critical text or images another 1\/8&#8243; from the final dimension (red line). The safety margin (yellow line) and full bleed area gives a 1\/8&#8243; tolerance to the left and right of the intended cut line.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common mistakes when designing with full bleed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Adding a white border as the \u201cbleeds\u201d of the design.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest mistakes when designing full bleed is adding a 1\/8\u2033 white border around the design to give the file \u201cbleeds.\u201d This is not a proper way to design for bleeds because the bleeds actually have to be part of the design. Minor printing or paper cutter errors may shift the paper very slightly when cutting, which means that a section of the full bleed area will be part of the final print. If the full bleed area is white, then the final print might have a white sliver on the edges after printing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Slivers5_edited.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"Designing bleeds as a white border is considered improperly designed. This can result is a small white sliver appearing on one or more sides due to slight shifting.\" class=\"wp-image-894\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Designing bleeds as a white border is considered improperly designed. This can result is a small white sliver (top image) appearing on one or more sides due to slight shifting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Putting critical text in the safety margin and\/or full bleed area.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Another big mistake when creating a full bleed design is putting critical text and\/or images in the safety margin area. Anything within the safety margins runs the risk of being cut off during the trimming process. Therefore, if any essential text or images are in the safety margins, they might get cut off, and the desired result will look bad. It is common for people to put page numbers in the safety margins, which puts the numbers at risk of getting cut off slightly. In this version of the Printivity flyer, text has been placed within the safety margins in 3 locations. After the printing and cutting, the text was cut off in all 3 locations.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/SMissue6_edited.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"In this example, the improperly designed file has the page number 8 and other text within the safety margin (yellow dotted line). After cutting, the text on the bottom and the number 8 are not cut off because it was in the safety margin. \" class=\"wp-image-895\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this example, the improperly designed file has the page number 8 and other text within the safety margin (yellow dotted line). After cutting, the text on the bottom and the number 8 are not cut off because it was in the safety margin. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Expanding the file to increase dimensions.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Often times customers will submit a design without full bleed (for instance, 8.5\u2033 x 11\u2033) which needs to be redesigned for full bleed as an 8.75\u2033 x 11.25\u2033 design. The quick fix that customers most often do is expand the document so it fits to 8.75 x 11.25.\u201d While this may work in some instances, more often than not, the full bleed design ends up having critical text and images within the bleeds and\/or the safety margins. <strong>If a document is expanded to meet full bleed requirements, ensure there is no critical text and\/or images within the safety or bleed margin.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Adding cut marks.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Cut marks are not recommended when designing for full bleed. Cut marks are technically part of the full bleed design, and any cut marks within the bleeds may show up in a final print after the cutting process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Design dimension chart<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/FB-Chart.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"Extend each side of the file by .125&quot; for properly designed full bleed file.\" class=\"wp-image-781\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" height=\"768\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"1948\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/PhotoRetouch_SS_pg47_v3-1024x768.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Stack of saddle stitch booklet templates\" class=\"wp-image-1948\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shop Saddle Stitch Booklets at Printivity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"1793\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/presentation-folders-pdp.jpg?ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1793\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shop Folders at Printivity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"1776\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printivity.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Postcards_Transparent.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1776\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shop Postcards at Printivity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-499968f5 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.printivity.com\/products\" style=\"background-color:#ef4129\">Shop at Printivity.com Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Improper design of full bleed is the number 1 cause of delays when customers order prints from a company. It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,18,10,14],"tags":[96,170,185,220,221,253,318,363,365,414],"class_list":["post-780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design","category-design_tips_and_tutorials","category-finishings","category-print_ready_files","category-services","tag-buying-print","tag-design","tag-digital-printing","tag-full-bleed-design","tag-full-bleed-printing","tag-how-to-design","tag-online-printing","tag-print-media","tag-print-products","tag-safety-margin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/cooperation-coworking-day-1543895-1.jpg?fit=7952%2C5304&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgont1-cA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10273,"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780\/revisions\/10273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insights.printivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}