The most common worry about having work printed is that the design will not appear exactly as expected. If you’re not a designer, like most of us, there are some small yet crucial points about which we frequently fail to recognize and misunderstand. You can’t afford to miss any of these finer details when submitting your artwork for printing, such as the bleed, trim, and safe zones. Knowing and comprehending these criteria will help you get the most out of your designs.

Before we get into it, let’s establish why you, as a client, must be concerned with providing a printing service with these requirements. While our cutting-edge equipment will result in the most beautiful end product, there is still room for error in the process. As a result, the machines that are used to cut your materials after printing may not be precise enough. We propose that the background image’s edge extend beyond the initial edge to avoid this problem.

Now that you know why it’s so crucial to follow these procedures on your end to get a perfect print job, here’s an easy guide on how the bleed, trim, and safe zone work in printing to guarantee that your prints are never less than perfect.

Trim Zone

The trim is the first thing we’ll look at. The trim zone is a technical term for the completed size of a product. For example, a 4″ x6″ postcard has its own trim size, which means it will be trimmed down to that size in a layout file.

Why is it important to choose the right trim size? Because you’re uploading your design, knowing where your trim edges are can come in handy so that you may go beyond the edge of your picture and eliminate any margin or error that will occur when your product is trimmed.

The amount of your image that should go beyond the trim edge is everything that falls into the bleed zone. The following section, the bleed zone, will tell you how big your images should grow into these margins.

Bleed Zone

A bleed is the extra margin on print products that is intended to be cut off as the finished product is trimmed down. It literally implies that a product’s color and artwork will “bleed off the page” when it reaches the edge, leaving no visible white edges.

You may create a bleed in a layout file by extending past the trim line until the blade cuts through. Why do you need to include a bleed zone in the first place? If you don’t have one, white edge borders will be left on your pictures.

Knowing the precise size to extend your artwork with a bleed zone depends on the product you’re producing. For example, most business cards have a 0.1″ bleed, which means a standard 2″ x3.5″ card will have a bleeding area of 2.1″ x3.6″.

For Unified Printing products, the optimal bleed size is listed below. These measurements should also be accurate for your trim size.

• 0.1″ bleed: most business cards, folded business cards, bookmarks, CD packages, club flyers, collectors cards, DVD packages, event tickets, most postcards, rack cards, rip business cards, rolodex cards, stickers, table tents, greeting cards, “wink” special shapes.
• 0.125″ bleed: a-frame signs, banners, brochures, door hangers, envelopes, flyers, folded hang tags, hang tags, illumaprint panels, letterheads, mini menus, notepads, posters, posters (wide), roll labels, retractable banner stands, staggered cut flyers, window clings, window decals, yard signs.
• 0.25″ bleed: booklets, calendars, catalogs
• 0.3″ bleed: folders
• 0.325″ bleed: business cards with round corners in either 2” x3.5” and 3.35” x2.17” size. Postcards with round corners in the following sizes: 4” x6”, 5.5” x8.5”, 4.25” 5.5”, 5” x7”. All special shapes, except for “wink” special shape, which is 0.1″.

Safe Zones

The hard work is now behind us, and the final step appears more obvious. However, you must still be cautious about what you put into your safe zone.

The safe zone is the area where the most important, crucial components (such as text, images, logos, and so on) are placed. The only way to avoid having these elements removed after the product is trimmed to its final size is to make sure they’re within the safe zone.

You run the danger of your text, pictures, or logos being chopped off if you push them too far! Because even the tiniest shift might result in an uneven completed project, you must provide plenty of space for your safe zone. It’s often advised that you make sure your product’s images have at least 5mm to 6mm of room on all sides.

The actual cut may occur anywhere between the bleeds and the safety margins, so leave plenty of room for mechanical tolerances. Keep in mind that wider margins, like those shown above, allow you to print on a larger number of printers while still maintaining the integrity of your designs.