Lusid Motif GDES250_TheFinalSubmission_McCarthy_Andrew_W2018_j | Page 23

Layout for Printing Bleed When preparing a document to send to a printer, there are several specifications and elements to include in your layout. These specs help to ensure It is often necessary to have images and other that the printer will provide your final project as design elements extend all the way to the edge of intended. your printed page. If in your layout these elements only extended to the edge, and not beyond, you would risk a tiny bit of white space showing up on the edge of your paper if it was not cut exactly on the trim marks. For this reason, you have bleeds. Bleeds Trim marks, or crop marks, show the printer where are images that extend beyond the live area of the to cut the paper. For a standard layout, such as a page (and beyond the trim marks) to guarantee business card or poster, trim marks are small lines clean edges. Background colors are an example of a located in each corner of the document. One line shows the horizontal cut, and one shows the vertical common use of a bleed. Trim marks cut. Since you don’t want these lines to actually show The amount that your images need to extend beyond up on your printed piece, trim marks are placed the trim marks is referred to as the bleed. Be sure outside of the final visible, or “live,” area. to consult your printer at the start of a job to find out the required amount of bleed, which is often around When working in graphics software such as one-eighth of an inch. In your graphics software, Illustrator, you can set your trim marks to be shown on screen and automatically placed in your you can use guides to mark your bleed area, which does not need to show up in the final document that final document export, such as a PDF. If you have you deliver. Just make sure any image that needs to downloaded templates from a printer, the trim extend to the edge of the page actually extends to marks will often already be included. your bleed guides. Trimmed page size The trimmed page size is the final intended size of your pages, after being cut along the trim marks. This size is important to supply to the printer because it will determine what machines will be used to print your job, which will affect the final cost. When starting a project, the size you create your document at in a graphics program is the trimmed page size. Margin or safety Just as images that should bleed should extend beyond the live area of your layout, images that you don’t want to risk getting clipped should stay within a margin, sometimes referred to as a “safety.” Again, consult your printer for these measurements. Just as with bleeds, you can set up guides to help stay within your margins. Lucid Motif Graphic Industry 22