Using a temporary rectangle or margins at the overall bleed size can help align the objects.ĭrag margins and snap them to the artboard. Remember any objects spanning to the edge of the artboard will require bleed, run these out an extra 3mm per side. In Photoshop we altered the overall size of the document to accommodate bleed, however in Illustrator try and keep the document correct to the desired finish size. Use the same technique to create guides another 10mm smaller (5mm x 2). Let’s not forget to add our margin, in this case we’ll say 5mm per side. Right click on the W and H options and change the measurements to MM, then enter the normal document size.ĭrag guides to the borders of the new selection. It is always useful to place in some guides to remind you where the trimmed document size lies, I usually do this by heading to Select > All, then Select > Transform Selection. When creating your document, simply make the calculations to the artwork size as above and enter them into the Width and Height boxes. In addition to bleed, you should also add a margin to the edges of the document to avoid having your objects look as if they are about to fall of the page or even worse actually get cropped off when the document is trimmed! The amount of margin is personal preference, but 3mm, 5mm or 10mm is usually used depending on the size of the overall design. This 3mm accounts for each of the four sides of the page, therefore you should add 6mm to the width and height of the document, for example: In the UK at least, bleed of 3mm is commonly required. It is used to avoid strips of white paper showing on the edges of your print should the batch be misaligned when cut to size.Īny objects in your artwork that touch the edges of the document require bleed, for instance a background colour or image should spread to cover the entire bleed area as should any objects that creep in from the side of the page. Let’s start with the term bleed, this is the area of artwork that is extended beyond the actual dimensions of the document.

Show crop marks in word 2013