Bleed is a term used in printing that refers to printing that extends beyond the edge of where the sheet will be trimmed). In other words, the bleed is the area to be trimmed off. Bleed information refers to elements outside the finished piece, and printers often require bleed information on pieces that have bleed to allow for "printer bounce" when cutting a job down to size). Failing to provide bleed information and crop marks can result in finished pieces showing a thin area of white on the edge).
To create a printed piece with a bleed, the original artwork must extend beyond the document trim size. The safe zone for printing text is a minimum of 0.25 inches inside the edge of the document or cut line. A standard US bleed is 0.125 inches, or one-eighth of an inch, while a standard Australian bleed is 5mm). Full bleed is printing 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. Often the paper is trimmed after printing to ensure the ink runs fully to the edge and does not stop short of it).
