Bleed Explained
At Strut Card Printing, we use two types of blades for our professional-grade print guillotine, including tungsten steel and high-speed steel, both of which are regularly sharpened. With a print guillotine, you can easily and accurately cut through hundreds of sheets of paper, including strut card, in one go.
However, there is a chance of micro-movement occurring as the paper is cut and the edges are pushed away from the blade. To avoid the appearance of white spaces on the corners of your print, it’s important to add a slight overprint, or ‘bleed,’ around the edges of your artwork. This allows for a clean, seamless finish to your prints, regardless of the type of paper or card you use.
How much bleed do I need?
To ensure a clean and seamless finish on your prints, we recommend adding a 3mm overprint, or ‘bleed,’ around all sides of your document. This includes any images, background colors, and patterns, which should be extended to the end of this area. By doing so, you can avoid any white spaces appearing on the corners of your print and ensure that your final product meets the desired standards of quality and professionalism.
Document set up with no bleed
Document set up with 3mm bleed
Exported PDF with bleed and crops
How do i add bleed to my document?
Indesign
Under File > Document set up in the dialog box that says bleed and slug click into the bleed part and add 3mm on each side.
Illustrator
Similar to indesign except File > New will bring up the document dialog box, add 3mm to all sides.
Photoshop
Photoshop does not have a bleed setting so we recommend setting up your document 3mm bigger all around, so if document is to be printed A4 (210x297mm) set up as 216 x 303mm.
Illustrator bleed dialog box
Safe Area
To preserve the visual appeal of your printed designs on Strut Card, it’s crucial to incorporate a safe area, or margin, within your artwork. Unlike the bleed, which extends beyond the artwork, the margin is meant for text, headings, and important information that need to be placed on top of the background area. Having a margin of at least 5mm is recommended for smaller printed items on Strut Card, while larger items such as banners should have a margin of around 25mm. This will ensure that your text and headings do not appear cramped or uneven once printed.
Safe Area
To keep your artwork looking clean and aesthetically pleasing we recommend working with a safe area or ‘margin’, not to be confused with bleed this area sits within the artwork and is generally used for text and headings or important information on top of your background area, your type layout on screen can look fine if its a couple of millimetres in from the edge but once it is printed onto its chosen material it will appear cramped and uneven.
We recommend a margin of at least 5mm for smaller printed items and for larger items such as banners go up to around 25mm.
If you are unsure about bleed and your artwork or have any questions then call us on 023 8087 8037 or email us.