{"id":952,"date":"2026-07-02T12:27:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/bleed-safety-margin\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T12:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:39:39","slug":"bleed-safety-margin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/knowledge-base\/supplying-files\/bleed-safety-margin\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing for bleed: all about bleed and safety margin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White edges along the side of your printed book: that is the result of incorrectly supplied files. <strong>Designing for bleed<\/strong> prevents it: you let image and colour run just past the edge, so that no white paper ever becomes visible after trimming. This is how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large has-custom-border\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hero-softcover-new-rMnj8QOg-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Designing for bleed: everything about bleed and safety margin\" class=\"wp-image-117\" style=\"border-radius:14px\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hero-softcover-new-rMnj8QOg-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hero-softcover-new-rMnj8QOg-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hero-softcover-new-rMnj8QOg-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hero-softcover-new-rMnj8QOg-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hero-softcover-new-rMnj8QOg.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is bleed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bleed is the piece of image or colour that you deliberately let run beyond the final format, usually 3 mm all round. Because cutting machines have a tiny amount of play, bleed prevents white edges when the image runs right to the edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the safety margin?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The safety margin is the opposite: a safe zone on the inside of the cutting line. Keep important elements such as text and logos at least 3&ndash;5 mm from the edge, so that they are not accidentally trimmed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rules of thumb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bleeding images: extend 3 mm beyond the format.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Text and important elements: keep 3&ndash;5 mm inside the edge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Supply at final format including bleed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working in Word or Canva, where you cannot set the bleed separately? Then make your document 6 mm larger than your final format, so 3 mm extra on each side, and let your background run to that edge. During trimming that margin falls away exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Checking before you supply<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not sure whether your layout is right? Send your file in advance and we will check whether the bleed is correct and whether nothing falls inside the safety margin. That way you avoid surprises at the printing stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Designing for bleed is part of the wider supply process. Also read our article about supplying a <a href=\"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/knowledge-base\/supplying-files\/pdf-x-supply\/\">print-ready PDF<\/a> for all the requirements in one place. You can find more technical background on PDF standards at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pdfa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the PDF Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Open your PDF at actual size and look at the edges. If a background colour or photo runs exactly to the cutting line, there is no bleed and you risk a white edge. If it runs 3 mm beyond it, you are fine. Then check the other side: if important text or a page number sits closer than 5 mm to the edge, move it inwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With a cover, pay extra attention to the spine. A title that ends exactly on the fold line will, with a tolerance of one millimetre, end up half around the corner. Allow at least 3 mm of leeway there too. And supply your cover as one continuous surface, not as separate front and back; we do not join them together ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why bleed is needed at all<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A book is not printed sheet by sheet to size, but trimmed in a stack. That stack always shifts a fraction under the blade, and the blade itself has play as well. Without <strong>designing for bleed<\/strong>, every small deviation would leave a white stripe along the edge, and on a dark page that stands out immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 3 mm of bleed is therefore not bureaucracy but production margin: it is material intended to be cut away. For that same reason you keep a safety margin on the inside. What you place inside that margin is guaranteed to stay; what falls outside it is at the mercy of the blade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions about designing for bleed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>How much bleed should I allow?<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three millimetres all round as standard. That is enough to prevent white edges given the play of the cutting machine.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>What happens without bleed?<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After trimming a white edge can appear where your image should have run to the edge, because the cutting machine has a small deviation.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>What is the difference between bleed and safety margin?<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bleed is image that you let run beyond the edge (3 mm). The safety margin is the safe zone inside the edge (5 mm) where you keep important elements away from.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Do I need bleed if my pages have a white border?<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. If nothing runs to the edge, bleed is unnecessary. As soon as one page has a bleeding photo or colour area, you give that page bleed.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Do I have to supply crop marks?<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is not necessary, as long as the page format is right and the bleed sits outside it. If you do supply crop marks, place them outside the bleed so that they do not fall into the image.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/contact-en\/\">Get help with your file<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/knowledge-base\/supplying-files\/\">More about supplying files<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>White edges along the side of your printed book: that is the result of incorrectly supplied files. Designing for bleed prevents it: you let image and colour run just past the edge, so that no white paper ever becomes visible after trimming. This is how it works. What is bleed? Bleed is the piece of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":695,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-952","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=952"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6349,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/952\/revisions\/6349"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}