Bleed is 3mm of extra background running past the trim edge, so there’s never a thin white line after we cut. Anything that touches the edge of the page needs it.
Bleed goes past the edge, trim is the edge, and your margin stays inside it.
Where bleed sits on your page
An A5 page (210 × 148mm) becomes 216 × 154mm.
Three lines matter on every page. The trim line is where we cut. The bleed is the 3mm of artwork beyond it, which ends up in the bin. The safe zone sits 5mm inside the trim, and anything important stays within it.
Why it matters: we trim stacks of sheets at once
We print your pages on bigger sheets, stack them up and cut them down to size. Across a tall stack, not every sheet sits in exactly the same spot, so the blade can land a fraction of a millimetre off your trim line. Bleed gives it spare artwork to cut into.
Bleed is only needed where colour, photos or graphics run right up to the edge. If every page has a white border around it, nothing touches the trim, so there’s nothing to extend.
Work out your page size with bleed
Add 3mm to every edge, so 6mm to the height and 6mm to the width. Set this up before you start designing, because stretching artwork afterwards is fiddly.
| Size | Finished size | Artwork with bleed |
|---|---|---|
| A6 | 148 × 105mm | 154 × 111mm |
| A5 | 210 × 148mm | 216 × 154mm |
| A4 | 297 × 210mm | 303 × 216mm |
| Square | 210 × 210mm | 216 × 216mm |
| Square | 250 × 250mm | 256 × 256mm |
| Square | 294 × 294mm | 300 × 300mm |
| US Letter | 279 × 216mm | 285 × 222mm |
Set it up in your software
Pick your software for the exact clicks. The idea is the same in all of them: make the page 3mm bigger on every side, pull edge-to-edge artwork out to that line, and keep it when you export.
- File → New → Document. Set your finished page size, for example A5: Width 148mm, Height 210mm.
- Under Bleed and Slug, type 3mm into the Top, Bottom, Inside and Outside boxes.
- Drag any background, photo or block of colour that touches the edge out to the red bleed line.
- File → Export → Adobe PDF (Print). Choose PDF/X-1a:2001, then under Marks and Bleeds tick Crop Marks and Use Document Bleed Settings.
- Create your document at the finished size and add 3mm bleed on every side in the document setup.
- Stretch backgrounds and edge-to-edge images out to the bleed guide.
- File → Export → PDF. Set Area to All Pages (not All Spreads) and tick Include bleed.
- File → New. Set the artboard to your finished size and type 3mm into each of the four Bleed boxes.
- Extend backgrounds out to the red bleed line around the artboard.
- Save as Adobe PDF and, under Marks and Bleeds, tick Use Document Bleed Settings.
- Canva has no bleed setting, so build the page at the bigger size with bleed built in. For A5, that’s a custom size of 154mm wide × 216mm high, not 148mm wide × 210mm high.
- Keep words and logos at least 8mm in from the edge of your Canva page. That’s the 3mm bleed plus the 5mm safe zone.
- Download as PDF Print, then send it over for your free file check.
- Photoshop has no bleed setting either, so make your canvas 3mm bigger on every side than your finished size.
- Set it to 300dpi at print size, so photos stay sharp.
- Keep text 5mm inside the finished size, then save as a PDF.
Four bleed mistakes that send files back
Fix: Drag the background out 3mm beyond the trim, into the bleed area, then export again.
Fix: In your export’s Marks and Bleeds settings, type 3mm into the four bleed boxes, or tick Use Document Bleed Settings.
Fix: Keep important words, logos and page numbers at least 5mm inside the trim.
Fix: On a book cover spread, bleed goes on the outside edges only, never around the spine. Our cover file guide shows exactly where.
Watch it done
The walkthrough is filmed in InDesign, and the same idea applies whatever you design in. Three more if you’d like to go further: our guillotine trimming off the bleed, a quick print-ready PDF guide, and a longer set-up walkthrough:
0:27Trimming off 3mm bleed at Ex Why Zed1.3K views · opens on YouTube- 3:10Artwork Made Easy — Set Up a Print-Ready PDF (Bleed, Page Size & 3 Common Mistakes)86 views · opens on YouTube
- 9:34Set Up 3mm Bleed for Print at Ex Why Zed1.2K views · opens on YouTube
What a pleasure to work with ExWhyZed. They helped me along my production process to ensure getting the material ready was as easy as possible for an amateur. They also helped me, free of charge, with the cover image that I could not line up with my kit.
Quick questions
Does bleed change the size or cost of my print?
No. The bleed is trimmed off, so your finished size and your price stay exactly the same.
My pages have a white border. Do I still need bleed?
No. Bleed is only needed where colour, photos or graphics run right up to the trim line.
Should I include crop marks?
Yes, if your software offers them: tick Crop Marks when you export. The part that really matters is the 3mm of bleed itself.
What if I’ve already sent a file without bleed?
Just send it. A real person checks every file for free, and we’ll tell you what to change, or rebuild the bleed for you where we can.
Is it the same for a hardback cover?
No. A hardback cover wraps right round the boards, so it needs a much bigger allowance than 3mm. Our hardback set-up guide has the sizes, and we’ll send you the exact cover dimensions for your book.
Not sure you’ve got it right? Send it anyway.
A real person checks every file for free. If the bleed’s missing, we’ll tell you exactly what to change, or rebuild it for you.
