BLEEDING AND STATIONERY DESIGN

When we design stationery pieces for customers who ordered our stationery package, we need to take into account the printing method they're going to use.

Professional and office printers work in a different way.

When a design goes right to the edge of the paper, and it will be printed by a print shop, we need to create it larger than its cut size. Crop marks are added to specify its actual size. That's because professional printers are unable to run ink to the edge of the paper. Stationery pieces are printed actually larger than their actual size, and are later trimmed down. This printed area that extends off the trimmed area is called bleed.

A standard stationery piece would allow an extra 1/5 inch of bleed to color and image areas.

What happens when a design released for professional printing is printed by an ink-jet printer? Well, it doesn't look as planned by the designer. The design should be arranged (no bleed area) for office printers.

To avoid all this hassle, when a customer requires stationery pieces for professional and office printers, we avoid to design all the way to the edge of the paper.