When it comes to making an impression, you don’t want to be living in a box. If you’re the proud creator of a comic, graphic novel, recipe book, or children’s story, having striking visuals is non-negotiable. So when that vision doesn’t reach the edge of the page, it loses some luster. A good solution is understanding the answer to this age-old question: what is bleed vs no bleed in publishing?
Bleed is a term used in printing that refers to content enlarged slightly beyond the trimline of a page, as opposed to being restricted inside the margins. No bleed implies the opposite, where content is kept inside the standard printing format.
The need for this little practice finds its application in design settings before the actual printing starts. Page content (especially full-page imagery) is normally made a little bigger to extend about 0.125 inches beyond the edge of the page, literally allowing it to bleed past normal printing parameters.
Need a more practical understanding? Check out this video.
Imagine nailing that perfect design for a cover, or even the interior layout of your book. Opening it for the first time should be exhilarating! Wouldn’t it be tragic to have an error in design throw off the printing?
You might be left with off-center page elements imprisoned within the dreaded white lines of printing margins, or be stuck with images surrounded by an unexpected white border.
Your hard work deserves a better presentation! Not to mention that you certainly don’t want to spend extra dollars to fix the mistakes.
If you’re a rising star in self-publishing, and well on your way to becoming an author or visual content creator ready to print your work en masse, then you may want to learn a few tricks of the trade.
Beyond the Border: Further Understanding Bleed Vs No Bleed in Publishing
The Secret to Living on the Edge
Publishing houses are not in possession of any special equipment that allows them to print images all the way to the edge of a page. This may leave you perplexed while staring at that riveting coffee table page-turner you laid out for your guests, with its cover image fitting snugly on the page.
Instead, publishers and their printers demarcate a specific document bleed for any designs or images that need to fit an entire page, especially with designs that require a two-sheet spread.
Bleed is a step incorporated during design itself, subsequently impacting how it will turn out once printed.
After printing, and before the actual binding starts, the pictures are cropped back to the trimline to fit perfectly within the dimensions initially set for the final document.
These pages, vibrant and fully-realized, are then cut down to size to remove the excess bleed margin. The result: a product that leaves you in awe of its edgy personality!
The Margin of Error
Trim is a no mere estimate. If it were, especially with regards to printing, mistakes would be equal to cutting down a tree when you only asked for the hedges to be trimmed!
Instead, printers usually have a specification (or margin of error) for the amount of bleeding that should be done for a specific document. In other words, they specify a margin outside of the final print border, indicating the size by which the pictures or background needs to be enlarged for the final design.
Depending on the document—and assuming that the design would be enlarged by the conventional ⅛ of an inch on each side—it may look something like this:
| Document | Standard Print Dimension | Dimension with Bleed Margin |
| Magazine Cover | 8.26 x 11.69” | 8.325 x 11,225” |
| Business Card | 3.34 x 1.96” | 3.465 x 2,085” |
| Poster | 16.54 x 23.39” | 16.635 x 23,515” |
| Flyer | 8.26 x 11.69” | 8.325 x 11,225” |
Fighting Border Wars
The principle itself is not that difficult to grasp. In essence, you merely want an image, graphic, or color background to pour off the edge, so that the excess can be trimmed off to leave a full-page layout.
Still, there are a few key elements to keep in mind. Your designated publishing house or printer will have their own set of specifications to allow them to fulfill your requirements.
Some of these could include:
- Size of the overall bleed margin
- Size of the gutter bleed margin (the side of the page attached to the spine)
- The size of the paper they’re using
- The method of cropping and trimming
Having this knowledge is one thing, but applying it is another thing entirely. This is where your designer comes in, and where conversations with them about such details are necessary when it comes to book covers or interior designs.
You won’t need a designer for every printing need. Samples as simple as invitations can easily be prepared for printing through programs like Adobe InDesign by following a quick tutorial.
However, when publishing is the end goal and mass printing is an inevitable outcome, having a designer on board could help you avoid the looming shadow of a pricey printing mistake.
Whatever the level of their design tool—whether it be as intricate as InDesign or as user-friendly as Canva—an experienced designer will be aware of the bleed settings to be applied and adjusted in preparation for print.
To Bleed or Not to Bleed
What Are You Printing?
When a picture, design, or illustration takes full claim of the page with its colorful layout and vivid depictions, the need for bleeding pretty much speaks for itself.
But we are also part of an age where less is more. People’s minimalist preferences have seen them shy away from the color in favor of a cleaner, more executive look designated by their palette of 80 different shades of white.
This is where no bleed comes in, which is nothing more than the absence of bleeding practices. When there is no concern of content being cut off, and you’re working with simple designs on blank backgrounds that proudly catch eyes, then no settings need to be adjusted during the design phase.
Likewise, walls of text also make the printer’s job fairly straightforward.
With these initial expectations, writers often don’t bother with advanced design programs, instead sticking to something like Google Docs or MS Word. However, even some authors have content that they’d like to have bordering the edges of their work.
Luckily, bleeding can be seen as a part of document housekeeping—along with other formatting—and the settings can be tweaked during document setup before any content is even added.
Need a quick illustration? Watch this.
Setting page size and margins: For books with bleed – YouTube
Give it Some Space
Of course, predicting how your layout will turn out is another consideration altogether. Merely enlarging picture and text elements beyond the trimline could leave your content looking claustrophobic as it presses against the edges of the page.
Imagine credentials on a business card without breathing space, or trying to read a book introduction that delves into the bent abyss of the book gutter.
Therefore, it becomes useful to consider a few content settings, such as the volume of content and its alignment, in the overall page layout.
Some More Questions
Will bleeding cost me more money?
Yes. As bleeding will require more labor and use bigger paper, choosing to have your designs fill the page to its edges will be more costly. However, having covers or book interiors that cannot be salvaged will rack up an even greater expense.
Are there simpler tools to help me become familiar with the concept of print borders, margins, and bleeding?
Of course. Canva is a popular, user-friendly application that easily allows you to play around with bleeds in smaller projects. These features are available even in the free version of the app, and can help acquaint you with the buzz on page margins.
Here’s a quick demonstration.
Final Thoughts
Simple as bleeding is, it can be challenging, and any self-publisher or designer worth their salt will know the importance of nurturing the skill.
Ideally, the words ‘margin,’ ‘trim,’ and ‘bleed’ should form a mantra when it comes down to printing, instantly creating a visual of exactly how the particular page (whether a cover, inside cover, or double-page spreads) need to be designed.
But why leave it the designer?
You have everything you need to become a DIY guru in basic bleed principles, and take agency of how your ideas translate to the page—just adjacent to the edge of its full potential.