Back from the break! Yes, we're knuckling down into the second Biggest Design Problem. In fact "Knuckling down" may not be that far off topic! Cause we're gonna talk about drawing some blood...

Or more accurately "bleeding your document"!

Design Problem #2 is "No Bleed in the Document"!

You mean I gotta give blood to get a print job out? Yeah, some of the terms in the industry can be pretty unusual! Bleed is when the background graphic or image of a document extends outside the finished size of the printed product to allow for variance in the cutting process.

Guilotines, Slitters and Timmers (regardless what brand or how expensive they are) can't cut every printed product in precisely the same place. There is some movement in the process. To compensate for this variation we bleed the background over the edge of the document, so that if it cuts a little bigger than the finished size you won't get the dodgy result of 'white paper' on the edge of it!

How do I bleed the document then?

Well, If your document has a background which you want to go all the way to the edge of the paper, then you will need to extend it even further past the edge of the document. It should be at least 3-5mm. For business cards and brochures 3mm is all that's needed, however, magazines require 5mm. 5mm would be fine for all products. (The more the merrier!)

You need to know that this is for EVERY edge of the paper! So you would have 5mm going past the TOP of your document, 5mm going past the BOTTOM of your document, 5mm going past the LEFT SIDE of your document, 5mm going past the RIGHT SIDE of your document.

Simple huh?

Strangely enough it's often overlooked and misunderstood!

I know that you wouldn't make that mistake, don't I? (wink, wink, nod, nod!)

A hint for the next article is...The reverse of bleed....

This article was humbly brought to you by Hollands Print Solutions! They produce high quality Business Cards, Brochures and Letterheads at affordable prices with excellent service! Visit their easy-to-use site at www.hollands.com.au