Brochures

When to use bleed in brochure design

If any element in your document layout makes contact with the document border you will need to use bleed.

The term bleed is used for all objects that make contact with an edge of your document. Let’s say you’re working on a brochure containing images that will print right up to a page edge. The trick is to place these elements so that they run over the edge where the document will be cut after printing. One eighth of an inch is the ideal amount of bleed for any one side of an image, graphic, or colored frame. Your final file that will be supplied to the printer will not only be one-quarter of an inch taller and wider, but should utilize crop marks to show where bleed area will be trimmed off after printing. An 8.5″x11″ file will still maintain these physical dimensions and should be created as such, yet a pdf of this file will measure out at 8.75″x11.25″.

Document bleed gives the final cutting some room for error. The paper itself can expand or contract, the stack of printed documents may have a bit of wiggle to it when on the cutter, document folds may take up space causing panel size changes. By adding bleed where needed, you can be sure that the printed, cut, folded and finished document will have perfect color with no surprises.