Bleed Specifications

Bleed and safe area

Extend the background past the edge. Keep text safely inside it.

Example: basic business card · 90 × 50 mm · 2 mm bleed

Compare before and after trimming
YOUR LOGOFirst name SurnameContact details123

The striped area is cut away.

YOUR LOGOFirst name SurnameContact details

The finished card. Guide lines are not printed.

  1. 1
    Extend the background

    Fill the striped area with any image or colour that reaches the edge. This extra 2 mm is cut away.

  2. 2
    This is the finished edge

    The black line shows where the card is trimmed. The finished size is 90 × 50 mm.

  3. 3
    Keep text safely inside

    Keep names and logos inside the blue dashed line, 3 mm from the finished edge.

Always check your product’s artwork instructions. This basic business card needs 2 mm bleed. Other products may need a different amount. Do not add the guide lines to your artwork.

Why do you need bleed?

Trimming can shift slightly. Extending the background keeps an unwanted white edge from appearing.

With bleed

YOUR LOGOFirst name SurnameContact details
The background still reaches the edge.

Without bleed

YOUR LOGOFirst name SurnameContact details
The background stops too soon. A white strip is exposed.

The trimming shift is exaggerated to make the difference easier to see.

What size should the file be?

Finished size90 × 50 mm
+
On every edge2 mm
=
Including bleed94 × 54 mm
Why does 2 mm add 4 mm to the size?

Bleed is added on both sides: width 90 + 2 + 2 = 94 mm, height 50 + 2 + 2 = 54 mm. An 85 × 55 mm basic business card becomes 89 × 59 mm including bleed. Crop marks, if included, sit outside these dimensions.

Are bleed and safe area the same thing?

No. Bleed is outside the finished edge and gets cut off. The safe area is inside the finished edge and keeps important details away from the cut.

Checklist before sending
  • Set the document to its finished size. Add the bleed specified for your product.
  • Extend backgrounds into the bleed and keep text inside the safe area.
  • Export a print-ready PDF with bleed included.

How to make a print-ready PDF →