Bleed / Cutout
Also known as: Bleed in printing, Print bleed
What Is Bleed in Printing?
Bleed is the part of a design that runs past the trim line, the edge where the printed sheet gets cut to its finished size. No cut is perfectly exact, so a background that stopped exactly at the trim could leave a thin white line if the blade lands a little off. With bleed, the cut falls inside the artwork either way.
In CE.SDK, each page can carry a bleed margin, and the PDF export records where the trim and the bleed fall. This entry also covers cutouts, the cut lines CE.SDK uses for pieces cut along a path instead of trimmed straight.
How Much Bleed Do You Need?
Most print shops ask for 3 mm (0.125 in) on every side, which makes the file 6 mm wider and taller than the finished piece. Some products ask for more, so start from the shop’s template when it has one.
3 mm
bleed on every side
0.125 in
+6 mm
added to width and height
0.25 in total
3 mm
safe area inside the trim
minimum, for text and logos
Bleed vs. Trim vs. Safe Area: What’s the Difference?
A print file has three zones around its edge, and each one has a job.
| Where it sits | What goes there | |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed | Outside the trim | Backgrounds and photos that reach the edge |
| Trim line | The finished edge | Nothing, this is where the blade cuts |
| Safe area | Inside the trim | Text, logos, and anything that must stay whole |
What Happens If a File Has No Bleed?
If artwork stops at the trim, any drift in the cut shows up as a white line along that edge. Print shops look for missing bleed when a file comes in and ask for a corrected one, so the order waits until it arrives.
Not every design needs bleed. A piece with a white border all the way around has nothing that reaches the edge, so there is nothing for the cut to expose.
How to Set Up Bleed in CE.SDK
Turn on the bleed margin
Give each page a bleed margin, set separately for each side. On the web, users of CE.SDK for web-to-print can set it themselves in the Print Setup panel.
Extend the artwork into it
The editor shades the bleed area, so users can see where backgrounds and photos should run past the edge.
Keep text in a safe area
A safety inset marks where text and logos should stay, and it never shows up in the export.
Export the PDF
The exported PDF carries the bleed, with trim and bleed boxes that mark both edges for the print shop.
How Does Bleed Work for Cut Shapes?
A sticker or label with a custom shape gets its outline from a path the cutter follows. In CE.SDK that path is a cutout, exported in a named spot color such as CutContour.
Bleed works the same way around a cutout: the artwork continues past the cut path, so the blade never exposes an unprinted edge. Kiss Cut vs. Die Cut covers cut lines, offsets, and perforated cuts in detail.
Bleed in Flyers, Cards, and Labels
Full-bleed flyers and cards
A flyer editor turns on a 3 mm bleed for every template, so customers drag photos past the shaded edge and the print shop trims inside them.
Shaped labels
A label tool adds a cutout around each product shape and lets the artwork run past it, so no label comes off the cutter with a white rim.
Links
Documentation and references for this concept.
Web-to-Print Design Tool
Give customers bleed margins and cut lines on the print products they design in your app.
Pages and Bleed Margins
Turn on a bleed margin for each page and set it per side.
Create Cutout
Create cut paths for stickers and labels with custom shapes.
Print Setup Panel
Turn on the web panel that lets users set their own bleed.
Flyers Editor
Add flyer design to your app, with templates and print-ready output.
Cutout Lines Demo
Draw cut lines around a design and export them for a cutter.
Related Terms
Kiss Cut vs. Die Cut
Two ways to cut stickers and labels to shape. A kiss cut stops at the backing paper, so the sticker sits on a larger she…
Registration Marks
Alignment targets placed beyond the finished edge of a printed piece. They print on every color plate, so the press oper…
Print-Ready PDF Checklist
What a PDF needs before a print shop can run it as is, from bleed and a safe margin to print-resolution images, CMYK col…