What is bleed?
When you’re preparing artwork for large format printing, you’ll often hear designers and printers talk about “bleed”. But what exactly is it? Bleed refers to the extra space that extends beyond the final trim size of your printed piece. This extra margin ensures your design reaches all the way to the edge of the paper after trimming, eliminating those unsightly white borders that can make your print look unprofessional.
For large format printing projects such as banners, posters, exhibition graphics and outdoor signage, bleed is particularly important due to the sheer size of the materials and the mechanical cutting processes involved. The required bleed varies significantly depending on the specific material you’re printing on. Here are our standard bleed requirements:
Bleed by material
- Fabrics: 50mm bleed
- Rigid boards (like Foamex and Dispa): 3mm bleed
- Vinyl and Easy Dot: 3mm bleed
- Paper posters: 3mm bleed
For all large format prints, we request artwork without crop marks and saved as high resolution PDF files. These requirements ensure optimal results for each material’s.
Why bleed matters in large format printing
Including proper bleed in your design files isn’t just a technical formality – it’s essential for achieving professional results. Even with the most precise cutting equipment available today, minor shifts during the trimming process are practically inevitable. Bleed provides that crucial safety margin that ensures your design extends fully to the edge after trimming.
When you want your design to extend completely to the edges (what printers call “full-bleed” printing), you simply must include bleed in your file. Without it, you risk ending up with thin white lines along the edges of your print – a telltale sign of amateur preparation that can undermine the impact of an otherwise impressive design.
For large format projects specifically, the larger dimensions make proper bleed even more critical as even minor alignment issues become much more noticeable on a banner or poster than they might on a business card. Taking the time to set up your bleed correctly saves both time and money by preventing the need for revisions and reprints.
Setting up bleed in Adobe Illustrator
Creating a new document with bleed
When you’re starting a new project in Illustrator, setting up bleed from the beginning is straightforward. First, go to File > New to create your document. Enter the dimensions for your large format piece in millimetres, and then look for the “Bleed” section in the dialogue box. Here, you’ll want to enter your bleed value based on your material – 50mm for fabrics or 3mm for rigid boards, vinyl and paper – and then click “Create”.
To make sure you can see your bleed area whilst working, go to View > Show Bleed. You’ll notice a red outline appears around your artboard – this indicates your bleed area. Any elements that you want to extend to the edge of your finished piece should reach this red line.
Adding Bleed to an Existing Document
If you’ve already created your document without bleed, don’t worry – you can easily add it later. Simply go to File > Document Setup, find the “Bleed” section, and enter your bleed values in millimetres (50mm for fabrics or 3mm for rigid boards, vinyl and paper). After clicking “OK”, you’ll need to extend any artwork that should reach the edges into this newly created bleed area.
The Selection tool is perfect for grabbing elements and stretching them to extend into the bleed area. For images and background colours, make sure they fully reach the bleed line to avoid any white edges after trimming.
Exporting Your File with Bleed Included
If you’ve already created your document without bleed, don’t worry – you can easily add it later. Simply go to File > Document Setup, find the “Bleed” section, and enter your bleed values in millimetres (50mm for fabrics or 3mm for rigid boards, vinyl and paper). After clicking “OK”, you’ll need to extend any artwork that should reach the edges into this newly created bleed area.
If you’re exporting to other formats like JPG or TIFF, use the “Export for Screens” option and make sure to select “Clip to Artboard” to include the bleed area in your export.
Creating bleed in Adobe Photoshop
Starting a new project with bleed
Photoshop handles bleed slightly differently from Illustrator. When creating a new document (File > New), you’ll need to manually add the bleed to your dimensions. For example, if you’re creating a 840mm x 1190mm A0 poster with 3mm bleed, you would set your document dimensions to be 846mm x 1196mm (adding twice the bleed amount to account for both sides).
It’s crucial to set an appropriate resolution too – for large format printing, aim for at least 150 PPI at the final output size. Too low, and your print might look pixelated; unnecessarily high, and you’ll struggle with enormous file sizes.
After creating your document, set up guidelines to mark where the actual trim will occur. Go to View > New Guide Layout and set margins equal to your bleed amount (50mm for fabrics or 3mm for other materials). These guides will show you the trim line, helping you keep important elements safely away from the edges.
Adding Bleed to Your Existing Photoshop Projects
If your document is already created without bleed, you can expand it by going to Image > Canvas Size. Add twice your bleed amount to both width and height (e.g., add 6mm to each dimension for 3mm bleed on rigid boards, vinyl or paper; or add 100mm to each dimension for 50mm bleed on fabrics) and set the anchor to the centre to add bleed evenly around all edges.
After expanding your canvas, you’ll need to extend any edge elements into the bleed area. The Selection tools are perfect for this, and you might find the Content-Aware Fill or Clone Stamp tool helpful for seamlessly extending backgrounds into the bleed area.
Exporting from Photoshop with Bleed
When saving your work, it’s wise to keep a layered Photoshop (.psd) file for future editing. This preserves all your layers and guides for any revisions you might need to make later.
For print-ready files, use File > Export > Export As and choose PDF format, as we require high-resolution PDFs for all our large format printing. When exporting, make sure NOT to include any crop marks or printer’s marks. Double-check that the dimensions include the appropriate bleed area for your specific material and that the resolution is appropriate for large format printing (at least 150 PPI).
Common pitfalls to avoid in large format printing
One of the most frequent mistakes designers make is not providing enough bleed. Always use the appropriate bleed amount for your specific material (50mm for fabrics, 3mm for rigid boards, vinyl, and paper) – skimping on this margin can lead to significant problems during production.
Equally important is respecting what printers call the “safe area” – keeping crucial elements like text and logos at least 10mm from the trim edge ensures they won’t be accidentally cut off during finishing.
Another common issue in large format work involves resolution. Unlike web graphics, print files need sufficient resolution – aim for at least 150 PPI at the final output size. Too often, designs that look brilliant on screen end up pixelated when printed large because the resolution was too low.
Many designers also overlook colour modes, using RGB (designed for screens) instead of CMYK (optimised for printing). For most large format print projects, CMYK will give you more predictable colour outcomes.
Special Considerations for Large Format Work
When you’re working on particularly large formats such as exhibition graphics or billboards, make sure to follow our material-specific requirements. Remember that fabrics require 50mm of bleed due to the stretching and finishing processes involved, while other materials typically need 3mm. The larger the print, the more room for variation in the cutting process.
For banners with grommets or other finishing options, you’ll likely need additional margin beyond the standard bleed. Always check with your printer about specific requirements for these special finishing techniques.
Remember that most large format prints are viewed from a distance, so fine details that might be crucial in smaller print pieces may not be as necessary. This can sometimes help you manage file sizes, which can become unwieldy with large format work.
Final Preparations Before Submission
Before sending your file to print, run through a quick mental checklist: Have you confirmed the correct dimensions including the appropriate bleed for your specific material (50mm for fabrics, 3mm for rigid boards, vinyl, and paper)? Do all elements that touch the edge extend properly into the bleed area? Are all crucial elements safely within the trim area? Have you used the correct resolution and colour mode for large format printing?
Make sure all fonts are either outlined (in Illustrator) or rasterised (in Photoshop) to prevent any font substitution issues. Most importantly, save your file as a high-resolution PDF without any crop marks or printer’s marks, as this is our required format for all large format printing projects.
By following these guidelines, you’ll ensure your large format print files are properly prepared with bleed, leading to professional results that make the right impression. Proper file preparation might take a bit more time upfront, but it prevents costly revisions and delays in the long run – something both designers and clients appreciate.