Bleed

Bleed is the area of a design that extends beyond the trim line in print. When a printed piece is cut to its final size, there is a small margin of error in the cutting process. If a background colour or image is intended to run right to the edge of the page but stops exactly at the trim line, even a tiny inaccuracy in cutting will leave a thin white strip of unprinted paper along one or more edges. Bleed solves this by extending the design beyond the intended trim line — typically by 3mm on all sides — so that even if the cut is slightly off, colour still reaches the edge. For logo applications in print, bleed is particularly relevant when the logo appears on packaging, stationery, or promotional materials with full-bleed backgrounds. Logo files used in print production are typically set up with bleeds accounted for in the overall document, though the logo itself does not require bleed unless it touches the edge of the printed area.