Sometimes I get an ad material I'd have to set in a page in a magazine I work on and then I find out the ad doesn't have bleed on them. Many times I receive materials in this state despite efforts to enlighten the guy who makes them and I am tempted many times to write (and hopefully, do something) about it. I am weak against temptation so here it is. Yes, I made this post for you! you'll know who you are if ever you stumble on this blog somehow. If you don't, then at least I have helped someone else learn about bleeding and prevent some other guys from bleeding their brains off. I'd be happy either way.Well now... Bleeding, as the name implies, is about making the artwork spill out of it's container. The container being your page's physical size, your artworks colors or images that are (supposedly) touching the page's edges should be made to EXCEED the page's trim edges. The reason for this is simple: This is to prevent having unprinted "white" areas from creeping into your page should the cutting misses it's mark. Remember, magazines, books and other publications are chopped cut as a whole-making it impossible to be sure that every page is cut accurately. If you would look at the corners of the image, (click to enlarge) the inner cropmarks show the page's trims and beyond it... you guessed it, BLEED AREA!
A bleed is usually 3mm or 0.125" on each side of your page making your letter size document 8.75" x 11.25 instead of 8.5" x 11". capisca? entienda? verstehen Sie?
Note: I am not the arrogant, egotistical, presumptuous, overbearingly assuming fellow that this post makes me to be. It's just that I believe that one should learn at least the basic rules of print design before being let loose in the industry. This is the reason Graphic Designers get no respect in this country. There is no bar to keep the standards up and there's no stopping anybody who can use photoshop effects from advertising himself as a Graphic Designer. That just grinds my gears. Tweet this!
http://nerdluck.blogspot.com/2008/06/it-doesnt-matter-whos-wrong-or-right.html?showComment=1219281900000#c2681073976733670894'> 9:25 AM
If this is a consolation for you... it is the same all over the world.
As an ex-printer/publisher I can tell you that most of the creative types don't want to be bother with procedures nor the technical limits of a printing.