In printing, a “bleed” is an extra amount of graphic elements that extends past the trim line of printed items such as flyers or business cards.

Anytime you are designing something where the graphic extends all the way to the edge of a page, it should be designed with a bleed.

Most items that come though the shop are cut down from larger sheets of paper once they are printed. So, if you order a set of 8.5” x 5.5” flyers, they won’t be printed on that size of paper and will need to be cut down after printing. The added bleed on the sides of your design gives us a small amount of space to cover any inconsistencies or movement during the printing or cutting process. The bleed is your insurance policy that there won’t be any unprinted edges on the final document.

Most printers, including us, ask for a 1/8” (.125”) bleed per side. So if you order an 8.5” x 11” flyer, we would want the artwork to be 8.75” x 11.25”. The .25” extra accounts for .125” on each of the four sides. All important text needs to fit in the Safe-Zone area.

We supply templates for all our standard products on the Product Pages of our website. If you are printing a custom size not listed on the site and need a template, let us know and we will get one created and emailed over for you to use.