The most common use of the term “bleed” will usually refer to an unpleasant and often painful encounter. In the print business, a bleed actually refers to an image in your print piece that extends all the way to the edge of a page rather than one that is set up with a border. An additional 1/8 of an inch is generally allotted to allow for shift during the trimming stage. Proper file setup and correct image placement is imperative for a bleed to appear professional.

It is relatively easy to create a print-ready PDF, but the setup for a printable PDF that bleeds can be a little trickier. There are several software options for creating a bleedable PDF including Quark and InDesign programs. Using InDesign, the bleed is added at the point you originally create the document whereas, in Quark, the bleed is not introduced until you are in PDF setup mode.

Contact the qualified staff at Design Printing. We are happy to walk you through the steps necessary to create print-ready PDFs with bleed components that are impressive and successful.