Full-Bleed Printing: What It Is & Why You Need It
There are a wide range of different printing options available, including full-bleed and no-bleed. Learning what sets these two apart is a vital component when it comes to choosing the perfect printing option for your particular project. Read on to learn all about what it means to do a full bleed print job, along with whether this option is the right choice for you. Sheer Print Solutions can perform your full-bleed or no-bleed print job right away!
What is Full Bleed Printing?
Take a moment to think about the most common print job that adorns your walls. The odds are high that whatever prints you have up come with a white border around all four sides. This is known as a ‘no bleed’ print because there are clearly defined borders. However, when a border just won’t do, you’ll want to ask for a full bleed print instead!
Full bleed prints do not have any type of border. Therefore, there is nothing to differentiate between the print itself and the paper it’s printed on. When they’re initially printed, however, they need to be upsized, and then cut down to get rid of the excess.
Setting up your print job correctly requires you to consider three critical factors:
- Trim Line – This is the final size that the document will be once everything is trimmed away.
- Borders – Achieving a frame border requires you to provide at least 3/8” from your bleed line (or ¼” from your trim line).
- Safety – To make sure that everything critical will be on the final result, make sure you provide at least 1/8” inside the trim line.
Why Does Bleed for Printing Matter?
Bleed is critical for printing because it determines how the edges of each paper should be cut. Even when your entire page should be covered with your design, there is no printer that will actually be able to print your design in this way. Therefore, a bleed zone must be designed so that you don’t accidentally cut off part of what needs to be printed. By incorporating bleed margins, though, you can avoid having something critical be left off the page.
Full bleed pieces tend to have a more professional appearance, along with looking more high-end. They also cost more too, but it’s a small price to pay to have a much nicer final result. Meanwhile, using a no bleed print job can save you some money, but it’s not going to look nearly as nice as a full bleed job.
Choosing between full bleed and no bleed can sometimes come down to money. Fortunately, we’ve got some tips to bring the cost of your full bleed print job down to a more comparable level.
Choose a Slightly Smaller Size
Let’s say that you want an 11”x17” print. Due to the printing process, you can choose to have the final result come out just a bit smaller. For instance, by choosing a 10.5”x16.5” final size instead, the excess can be cut off without having to go up to the next size.
Pay Attention to Sizing
Certain print sizes work better with full bleed printing than others. Therefore, if you’re printing a full bleed postcard, you can save money by choosing a 4”x6” or 5”x7” print. In fact, these specific sizes will cost around the same amount, regardless of whether you choose full bleed or no bleed. If you choose to print a 4.25”x5.5” or 5.5”x8.5” instead, though, you’ll save money by selecting the no bleed option.
Bleed the Design with Purpose
Certain projects can save money as long as the bleed is an even size on the top and bottom or left and right. Once the project is imposed, your chosen bleed style will eliminate the gutter space. This makes it easier to cut each print, which will bring down the cost of doing so.
Be Sure to Design it Correctly
The best way to save money on a full bleed print job is by ensuring you’ve designed your piece correctly. What you’ll want to do is incorporate 1/8” of bleed onto all four sides of the paper. This provides the proper spacing, and it also makes cutting your prints super easy!
Contact Us Before You Do Anything
Normally, you’d design your project before reaching out to a printing company. When it comes to using a full-bleed design, though, you may be able to save some money by touching base with us at the very beginning. We can talk you through how you should layout your design to optimize your full-bleed option.
Every tip listed above can help, but perhaps the most useful tip is to contact us before you make your design. There are a lot of ways we can help you bring the cost down, but only if we have the opportunity to discuss it with you in advance. Once your design is already set, our only option is to work with it as it’s presented to us.
Remember: There are no printers or print companies that have the ability to provide full bleed prints without having to trim some of the paper. It’s up to you to provide the printer with a properly formatted file. Failure to do so may cause your prints to not look like you’ve envisioned them.
Choosing a Full-Bleed Printing Service
Are you getting ready to do a full bleed print job? You’ll want to look for the highest quality results that will fit within your budget. Sheer Print Solutions is more than properly equipped to handle your project. Not only are we inexpensive and fast, but we’re also New York City fast! We have more than 40 years of experience, which makes it possible for us to meet even the most impossible printing deadline. Whether you need offset printing, digital printing, large-format printing, or more, we can handle it
Contact Sheer Print Solutions today to receive your free quote. We’ll respond within 24 hours with an accurate and affordable quote. Let us begin your full-bleed print job right away, and you’ll get exactly what you need!
About The Author
Craig Sheer
Craig Sheer is the owner of Sheer Print Solutions, located in New York City & Portchester, NY. We are the proven leader for affordable, high-quality Digital and Offset, and Large Format Printing in NYC. Sheer Printing Solutions is your single source for solutions to all your printing, binding, warehousing and fulfillment needs.