crops, bleed and safe zone guide - Rapido Print Guides/Rapido Print Crops Bl… · Crop marks A business card before trimming to final size. are thin lines placed at the corners of

Rapido Print 2013 © Page 5

crops, bleed and safe zone

guide

Page 6 Rapido Print 2013 ©

crops, bleed and safe zone guide

Bleed

is a printing term which is used to describe images or elements that touch the edge of the page and extending beyond the trim edge to leave no white margin. When a document has bleed, it must be printed on a larger sheet of paper and then trimmed down. Extending the artwork past the trim size prevents any white paper showing at the edge of the finished document, which could occur if there was no allowance for bleed, and the paper shifted slightly during the trimming process.

The example below shows how a document should be set up with bleed. This is the way you must set up your document if you intend to have graphics that extend all the way to the edges of the finished item.

The bleed area extends 3mm over the edge of the finished document size, in the example of the business card the finished document size is 85mm by 55mm, with a bleed area of 3mm to all sides.

This example uses a business card, however the same principle applies to any document of any size: a document size guide chart is available with the sizes in milimeters and pixels for the most common document sizes.

Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director

T: 0113 244 5700M: 0113 244 5700E: [email protected]

A business card before trimming to final size.

crop marks

Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


Garden Landscaping

Peter | Director


A business card after trimming to final size.

The card is cut and the bleed area is discarded, ensuring the imagegoes to the edge of the sheet.

Blee

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Recommended margins

Size Name size in millimeters size in pixels at 300dpi

A2, A1 and A0 (posters) 20 236

A3, A4 and 210 square 10 118

A5, A6 and Compliment slip (⅓ A4 ) 8 94

Business card 5 59

In the example

of the business card, the cyan/blue frame shows the document edge, the magenta/pink frame indicates the safe zone, where all important items must be kept within. The red frame is the edge of the bleed area and the black lines are the crop marks, which are the guides for trimming after printing.

EANNE’S EARNERS

Leanne Kitley-McNamara07739 792 514

[email protected]

EANNE’S EARNERS

Leanne Kitley-McNamara07739 792 514

[email protected]

A business card before trimming to final size.Crop marks

are thin lines placed at the corners of an image or artwork layout to indicate where the paper is be trimmed after printing.

Crop marks are important for any design we print, but are crucial for any design which will bleed, which must be printed on a larger sheet of paper and then trimmed down.

Safe zone

is the area to keep the main text, diagrams or images of a document within. In the business card example here there is a 5mm margin before the safe zone begins and the logo and text are placed.

The main reason for the margin and safe zone is to allow a tolerance in cutting. Having a margin between the paper edge and the image helps to keep the document looking less cluttered and more Professional.

If your document design has the text going to the very edge of the page then any cutting deviation could result in some of the text being cut off, with small margins, a slight deviation in trimming could result in the finished job looking uneven.

The chart to the right shows recommended margins

between the page edge and the safe zone.

Legendbleed edge

document edge safe zone/margin

crop marks

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EANNE’S EARNERS

LeanneKitley-McNamara07739 792 514

[email protected]

EANNE’S EARNERS


[email protected]

EANNE’S EARNERS


[email protected]

EANNE’S EARNERS


[email protected]

EANNE’S EARNERS


[email protected]

EANNE’S EARNERS


[email protected]

Bleed, safe zone and margin recommendations adhered to.

here you can see on the design the background image has bleed correctly applied and any text or logos are within the safe zone. Once printed the background image runs to the edge of all sides of the document and the text has an even margin between itself and the document edge.

Bleed not applied.

here you can see on the design the background image stops at the document edge instead of bleeding off the edge. Once cut down there is a non printed area on the edge of the card.

Incorrect margins, safe zone not used.

here you can see on the design the logo and text have been placed too near the document edge. Once cut down the text has been cut into.

Document artwork Potentially printed document

Examples

Here are three examples of artwork for a design. The first shows how it should be created and the following two have common errors in the design with a representation of how the potential printed product would look.

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Documents

crops, bleed and safe zone guide - Rapido Print Guides/Rapido Print Crops Bl… · Crop marks A business card before trimming to final size. are thin lines placed at the corners of