Chapter 4 36 What is Bleed? It’s effectively a safety net. During the printing process, the paper may move in the machine or when trimming the pages, the stack of paper can shift slightly. If that happens when you have an image that goes right to the edge of your page and there is no bleed, you end up with an unsightly white line down the edge. (Assuming you are using white paper). So, that’s why we always want to receive a print file with a 3 mm bleed on all sides. This means that the top and bottom together will be 6 mm longer than the final size. This also applies, of course, to the left and right sides. So, if your book is A5 size (210 x 148 mm), your print file will have a size of 216 x 154 mm. Your design runs 3 mm over the page edge (final size), so to speak. By bleeding an image beyond the trim size (final size) – often called a full bleed image - if there is any movement in the process, there is more image in the bleed area to compensate. So, if the paper moves a little, the image in the bleed area will be pulled into the trim size. Bleeding background image 149602 Jongeneel BNW.indd 18 04-06-2021 13:47 Final size 17 x 24 cm Page size + bleed 17,6 x 24,6 cm Cut-off 3 mm Safe zone 5 mm (from final size)
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