What Is Bleed in Printing and Why It Matters?

If you’ve ever printed packaging or artwork and noticed white edges where colour should be, you’ve likely run into an issue with missing bleed. In this guide, we’ll explain what bleed is, why it matters, and how to set it up correctly for professional-looking prints — especially when designing custom packaging boxes.

What Is “Bleed” in Printing?

Bleed refers to the area of your design that extends beyond the final cut size of the printed product. This extra margin (usually 3mm on all sides) ensures that no unprinted edges appear after trimming.

Example:
If your box lid is 100mm x 100mm, you should design your artwork at 106mm x 106mm, allowing 3mm bleed on each edge.

Standard Bleed Size in Packaging

• Standard Bleed: 3mm on each side (UK & Europe)

• Safe Zone: Keep important text/logos at least 3mm inside the trim line

• Trim Line: The final size after cutting

Why Bleed Is Important

1. Trimming Isn’t Always Exact:
   Printing machines can shift slightly. Bleed ensures a buffer to avoid unwanted white borders.

2. Edge-to-Edge Designs:
   If your background or artwork touches the edge, bleed ensures a full bleed print with no gaps.

3. Professional Packaging:
   Custom printed boxes without proper bleed look unfinished or low quality — especially on luxury packaging.

How to Set Bleed in Your Design File

Adobe Illustrator / Photoshop:

• Go to Document Settings

• Set bleed to 3mm on all sides

• Extend your artwork/backgrounds to the bleed area

Canva:

• Use “Show print bleed” from File > View Settings

• Manually pull background/image past the edge

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting bleed entirely
Placing logos or text too close to the edge
Relying on white borders without purpose

Bleed Checklist Before Sending to Print

3mm bleed added on all sides
Safe zone followed for text/logos
Design exported as PDF with bleed
CMYK colour mode used
Outlined fonts & embedded images.