Bleed
Also called: bleed margin
In print, bleed is the part of a design that falls away when the page is cropped. This allows parts such as illustrations and background colors to be bleed, meaning they extend to the edge of the page. Printing larger and then cropping a design is easier than printing exactly to the edge.
So this space is in addition to the regular page margin. The place where the document is trimmed is called trim.
In Dutch, bleed is also called bleed margin. The bleed margin serves during printing to handle the paper and cut the bleeding parts cleanly, taking into account a limited bleed. This ensures that bleeding elements actually reach the edge of the page, without losing important information when cropping.
The amount of bleed required depends on several factors and usually varies between 2 and 6 millimeters. On some printing presses and printers, technical information such as cut marks and print marks must be included within the bleed in the design file.
