Glossary
What is bleed in book printing?
Bleed is the extra artwork extended past the edge of the page so that when the pages are trimmed, no white sliver shows. The standard allowance is 0.125 inches — about 3mm — on every edge that runs off the page.
Why it exists
Cutting a stack of paper is accurate to about a millimetre, not to the pixel. If your cover’s background stops exactly at the trim line, a cut that lands a hair outside it leaves a thin white edge along one side of every copy. Extending the artwork past the line means the blade always cuts through colour.
When you need it, and when you don’t
- Covers: always. A cover is full-bleed by definition.
- Interiors: only if something touches the edge — a full-page photograph, a coloured header bar, a bleeding page tab. Plain text pages need no bleed.
The other half of the rule
Bleed protects what is outside the line. The safe margin protects what is inside it: keep text and anything you cannot afford to lose at least 0.25 inches in from the trim edge, for the same reason — the cut moves, and a title with its descenders shaved off is a reprint.
Related terms
- Trim sizeTrim size is the finished width and height of a printed book after the pages have been cut. It is chosen before the interior is laid out, because changing it later re-flows every page and changes the page count.
- Print on demandPrint on demand means a single copy is printed and shipped only after a customer orders it. There is no print run, no minimum order and no box of unsold books in your hallway — you are paid the difference between the list price and the printing cost.
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