Bleed in Print Artwork: Why It's an Absolute Must

1 March 2026

If you've ever received a printed piece with a white border where there shouldn't be one, you've experienced the consequences of missing bleed. Here's everything you need to know about bleed and why it matters for every single print job.

What Is Bleed in Print Design?

Bleed is one of the most important — and most commonly misunderstood — concepts in print design. Simply put, bleed is the extra area of your artwork that extends beyond the final trim size of your printed piece. It acts as a safety buffer to ensure that when the printer cuts your job to its finished size, there are no unwanted white edges or borders.

Why Does Bleed Exist?

Even the most precise printing and cutting equipment has a small margin of variance — typically 1–2mm. If your design ends exactly at the edge of the page with no bleed, even a tiny shift during cutting will result in a thin white strip along one or more edges of your finished piece. This looks unprofessional and can ruin an otherwise beautiful design.

By extending your background colours, images, and design elements 3mm beyond the trim edge, you create a buffer that absorbs any slight movement during cutting. The result is a clean, edge-to-edge print every time.

The Standard Bleed Requirement

The industry standard bleed for most print products is 3mm on all sides. This means:

An A4 document (210mm x 297mm) with bleed should be set up at 216mm x 303mm
A standard business card (90mm x 55mm) with bleed should be set up at 96mm x 61mm
An A5 flyer (148mm x 210mm) with bleed should be set up at 154mm x 216mm

Safe Zone: Keep Important Content Away from the Edge

Just as important as bleed is the safe zone — the area inside your design where all critical content (text, logos, important imagery) should sit. We recommend keeping all important elements at least 3–5mm inside the trim edge. This ensures that even with slight cutting variance, nothing important gets trimmed off.

How to Set Up Bleed in Your Design Software

Adobe Illustrator / InDesign: When creating a new document, enter your bleed values in the Bleed section of the New Document dialog. Set 3mm on all sides.

Canva: Enable the "Show print bleed" option and make sure your background extends to the bleed guides. When exporting, select "PDF Print" and tick "Crop marks and bleed."

Microsoft Word / PowerPoint: These programs are not recommended for professional print artwork as they do not natively support bleed. If you must use them, add 3mm to each dimension and extend all backgrounds to the edge.

What Happens If You Do Not Include Bleed?

If your artwork is submitted without bleed, your printer will either return the file to you for correction (causing delays), or print with a white border, which rarely looks intentional and almost never looks professional.

ShePRINTS Artwork Requirements

At ShePRINTS, we ask that all artwork be supplied as a PDF with 3mm bleed on all sides and all fonts embedded or outlined. If you are unsure about your file setup, our team is happy to check your artwork before going to print. We also offer a design assistance service if you need help getting your files print-ready.

Have questions about your artwork? Contact us and we will help you get it right before it goes to print.