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What is a Bleed?
A bleed refers to printing a color copy from one edge of the paper to the other without the standard borders by which most personal printers are limited. This is useful for printing brochures, posters, and other marketing materials with printing right to the edge. Often the paper is trimmed after printing to ensure the toner or ink runs fully to the edge and does not leave any white margins.
Visual Guide
Below is guide on how to properly setup your file for Bleeds.
In order to print your file with a full bleed, there must be an additional 1/2" added to the overall dimensions. In FIG. 1 the file is setup at 9" x 11.5", the red shaded area will be cut off and the resulting final product will be FIG. 2, an 8.5" x 11" sheet with no white margins. This bleed setup works for any size document that you don't want a white margin on.
Keep in mind when printing with a bleed that you don't have any content such as text on or near the bleed cut. If you have text that is too close to where the paper will be cut there is a chance that it will be cut off. It is best practice to have any important information 1/4" from the bleed cut lines or 1/2" from the edge of the document.
No Bleed Setup
If you are printing a file that doesnt bleed and your content goes to the edges of the document (see FIG. 3), your file will be shrunk to adjust for the 1/4" printer margin when it is printed. The resulting final product will be FIG. 4, an 8.5" x 11" sheet with a minimum of a 1/4" white margin on all sides.
The best practice when printing without a bleed is to setup your file with 1/4" white margin. This will insure that your file isnt scaled and the end result will be exactly like your artwork.
When you are setting up your file it is best to know before hand if you want your document to have a bleed. This way you will know exactly how your document will look once printed and there will be no surprises when you receive the finished product.
20/50# White Laser BondLightest weight paper available. Used for low cost 1 sided printing. The most common paper used on home inkjets. 92 brightness |
20/50# Color Laser BondLightest weight paper available. Good for 1 sided flyers. Colors below are pastels. This paper type is availble in the following colors: |
24/60# Laser White SmoothLightest paper recommended for 2 sided printing. Great for books, newsletters and Flyers. |
24/60# Laser ColorLightest paper recommended for 2 sided printing. Great for books, newsletters and Flyers. 96 brightness. This paper type is availble in the following colors: |
28/70# Laser White SmoothNice, smooth paper. Wonderful for high quality brochures and books. Most popular paper for 2 sided high end printing. 96 brightness |
32/80# Glossy TextGloss finish gives magazine like look and feel. Nice for professional brochures and catalogs. |
32/80# Laser White SmoothHeaviest text weight paper we offer. Smooth satin-like finish gives beautiful look and feel. 96 brightness. |
65# Glossy CoverLightweight gloss card stock. Nice for booklet covers and lightweight flyers. |
65# Cover Laser WhiteLightweight smooth card stock. Nice for a non-gloss finish on book covers and lightweight flyers. 96 brightness. |
65# Cover Laser ColorLightweight card stock. Great for BW booklet covers. This paper type is availble in the following colors: |
80# Glossy CoverHeavyweight cardstock. Great for post cards and booklet covers with a glossy finish. |
80# Cover Laser WhiteHeavyweight cardstock. Same weight as standard Business card. |
2-Part CarbonlessCarbonless paper allows you to write on the top sheet and have that writing transferred onto the sheet below. This 2-part carbonless paper includes White, and Yellow in that order. |
3-Part CarbonlessCarbonless paper allows you to write on the top sheet and have that writing transferred onto the sheets below. This 3-part carbonless paper includes White, Yellow, and Pink in that order. |
10pt / 100# Glossy CoverHeavier cardstock with a glossy finish. Great for postcards, business cards, promotional 1/4 sheet flyers and book and booklet covers. |
10pt / 100# Cover Laser WhiteHeavier cardstock. Great for postcards, business cards, promotional 1/4 sheet flyers and book and booklet covers. |
 28/70# 100% Recycled White Smooth100% recycled paper. Great for brochures, books, and the environment. |
80# 100% Recycled Cover100% recycled cover stock. Business card weight. Great for postcards, book covers, and the environment |
#10 Bright White |
#10 Bright White WINDOW |
#10 Self Seal |
#9 Bright White |
6x9 Bright White |
9 x 12 Bright White |
White Matte (Indoor) |
White High Gloss (Indoor) |
White Polyester (Outdoor) |
Magnet Paper (13 mil) |
Clear (indoor) |
80# Glossy |
80# Matt |
14 pt Glossy CoverOur heaviest cardstock with a glossy finish. Best stock for both business cards and postcards. |
14 pt C1SOur heaviest cardstock with a a non-gloss finish. 1 sided coating makes for easy writing on the back. Great stock for both business cards and postcards. |
| Tri-Fold / Letter Fold | |
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Letter folding, also known as Tri-Fold or Brochure Fold, is the most common folding type. This fold will take an 8.5x11 sheet and fold it twice so that it will fit inside a #10 envelope. Type Out, by definition, applies to all double sided fliers. Type Out and Type In only matter when we're talking about a single sided flier. Type Out means that the printing will face Out after being folded. |
| Half Fold | |
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The paper is folded in half. This is most popular for newsletters, where a double-sided 11x17 sheet becomes four 8.5x11 pages after being folded. This is also popular for menus and greeting cards. |
| Z-Fold | |
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Also known as the accordion fold. This option folds a sheet into three evenly-sized panels that fold together like an accordion. Popular for menus, pamphlets and information brochures, or any type of sheet that needs to be inserted into a standard-sized envelope. |
| Double Parallel Fold | |
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This is where a sheet is folded in four spots, so that the two panels on one half fit neatly into the fold on the other half of the sheet. This is typically for legal-sized sheets (8.5x14) so they can fit inside #10 envelopes. |
| Gate Fold | |
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This is where the sheet is folded twice so that when unopened, the panels fold outward like the shutters on a window. This is most popular for invitations or fancy informational pamphlets. |
The most basic and commonly used binding for periodicals, booklets, annual reports, etc. This type of binding is achieved by collating oversized printed sheets then half folding and stapling them at the spine. For example a four page 8.5" x 11" magazine is made up of 2 11" x 17" sheets printed double sided.
Perfect binding is commonly used for catalogs, directories and paperback books. It involves stacking a number of pages on top of each other, then "roughing" (grinding) the spines of the pages before applying glue, so that the glue bonds the spine of the book better, and wrapping the cover around it. For more information on Perfect Bound Books and how to set up covers and spines click here.
As with perfect binding, the pages for a comb bound book are stacked, but that is where the similarity ends. After the pages are properly collated with or without heavy covers and/or clear plastic covers and black vinyl backs they are punched with a series of rectangular holes through the spine and then a plasic comb spine is inserted through the holes to hold the pages together.
Spiral binding is a similar process to comb binding in that the pages are properly collated with or without heavy covers and/or clear plastic covers and black vinyl. However, instead of punching rectangular holes through the spine, slightly oval holes are punched through the spines. We then wind a durable plastic coil through the holes in a spiral to hold the pages together.
Three-hole punching is intended for use in three ring binders. We print your color or B&W copies on the paper of your choice. We then "punch" three standard-size holes along the far left margin to allow the pages to be inserted into a three-ring binders. We can provide the binders as well, or you assemble the books in your own binders in-house.
Although not usually thought of as binding. We can staple your copies together either by one staple in the top left corner of your document, or we can staple twice on the left side. Please note the difference between 2 staples on the left and booklet binding as booklets are printed on oversized paper and bookletized. We can staple a maximum of 45 sheets of paper together.