Why Do I Need Bleed?

Do I Really Need Bleed?

Yes. Yes. YES.

And here's why.

Printing presses are incredibly accurate.

Paper guillotines are too.

But no machine trims thousands of sheets to exactly the same fraction of a millimetre every single time.

That's why artwork extends beyond the finished edge.

That extra 3mm is called bleed.

Without it, even the smallest movement during trimming can leave an unwanted white line around your artwork.

Bleed isn't there to make life difficult.

It's there so nobody notices it.

Ironically, the best bleed is the bleed nobody ever sees.