To bleed or not to bleed.
Many designers automatically create print documents with bleed before thinking of the impact that 1/8″ can have on your overall project price and time-line.
Wikipedia defines Bleed (printing) as:
Bleed is a printing term that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet after trimming. The bleed is the part on the side of your document that gives the printer that small amount of space to move around paper and design inconsistencies.Bleeds in the USA generally are 1/8 of an inch from where the cut is to be made. Bleeds in the UK and Europe generally are 2 to 5mm from where the cut is to be made. This can vary from print company to print company. Some printers ask for specific sizes; most of these companies place the specific demands on their website.
Documents with bleed usually require more cutting, finishing and bindery time. For example, let’s say John’s Hardware store orders 5,000 8.5×11 2-color letterhead with a graphic of a wrench bleeding off the bottom right corner. In order to print more efficiently we suggest John’s Hardware removes the bleed, due to the fact that the change doesn’t affect the overall look and function of the printed piece. Removing the bleed on this order reduced the overall cost by 10%!
To talk to us at Pacific City Graphics about how you can order your printed material more efficiently, fill out the short form below or give us a call today!
