Second in a series of print production blogs. Up next, we’ll discuss color.
Hint: When you're producing your own project in a page layout program like Adobe InDesign, let the software manage the bleeds, margins, and crop marks for you.
The edge of a sheet of paper is a fun, but challenging area to design around. Having art and design go off of the page is a great way to expand your message and brand!
The challenging part is to keep all relevant content far enough away from the edge so it’s not lost in the trimming phase of the production process. A safe amount of margin space for business cards, postcards, and the like is one-eighth of an inch (0.125”). This allows the paper a small amount of room to move around during traditional or digital printing without the risk of content being cut off.
The opposite end of the margin is the bleed, content that you do want to cut off. Allowing the same amount of space outside the page prevents cutting that yields a small amount of blank paper from showing.
In between the margin and the bleed is the edge of the page and this is where crop marks help in the production process. By defining the edge during printing, the bindery department will know where to trim the page.
So be bold and straddle the bleeding edge!
Please post any questions or comments that you may have or give us a call! We'll be happy to help.
Thanks!
Design Department
AlphaGraphics of Aurora
15801 East Centretech Circle
Aurora, CO 80011
303-261-1334 (office)
877-685-0618 (toll free)
303-261-1338 (fax)
us636@alphagraphics.com (email)
us636.alphagraphics.com (website)
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