What Is Bleed in Printing and How Much Should I Add?

Bleed is artwork that extends beyond the final trimmed edge of a printed piece. The UK standard is 3mm on all four sides. It exists because guillotines cut through stacks of paper with a tolerance of about 0.5–1mm — without bleed, that tolerance shows up as a white sliver along the edge.

How much bleed do I need?

Product	Bleed	Safe zone (text inside edge)
Business cards	3mm	3mm
Flyers & leaflets	3mm	3–5mm
Booklets	3mm every page	5mm
Posters	3mm	5mm
Roller banners	0 (but 100mm bottom is hidden in cassette)	50mm sides

What's the difference between bleed and safe zone?

Bleed goes outside the trim line; the safe zone keeps important content inside it. An A5 flyer (148×210mm) should be supplied at 154×216mm with no text closer than 3mm to the trim.

Do I need bleed if my background is white?

Technically no — white-on-white can't show a trim line. But add it anyway; if you later add a background colour, the file is already correct.

How do I add bleed in Canva, Word and Illustrator?

Canva: File → Settings → Show print bleed, then export PDF Print with crop marks. Word: you can't set true bleed — make the page 6mm larger each way and we'll handle marks. Illustrator/InDesign: set 3mm bleed in Document Setup and tick "Use Document Bleed Settings" on export.

FAQ

My file has no bleed — is it ruined? Often fixable free: solid colours and photos can usually be extended. Bordered designs are the hard case. Is bleed the same worldwide? No — the US commonly uses 1/8 inch (~3.2mm). For UK printing, 3mm. Does bleed change the price? No. Flyer prices are based on trimmed size.