File Setup
Understanding Options for Saving to PDF
Laying Out Documents for Print
Creating and Exporting Bleeds Using Adobe InDesign
Using Adobe InDesign's Print Booklet Plug-In
Creating a Cutting Path for the Roland
Alternative Resources
For a more in-depth understanding of this topic, we recommend the following School of Print Media classes: Print Production Workflow and Digital Foundations. If you have questions, please consult your instructor or a DPC Customer Service Representative (CSR).
Important Facts
“Bleed allowance” is used by designers when they intend to have any printed element extend to the edge of a cut document. Bleeds allow for deviations in cutting by extending each one of those elements to about 0.125" beyond the document edge.
For example, in the DPC, our devices cannot print full bleed on a letter size sheet unless your document size is smaller than 8.25" by 10.75". To work around that, you should print your document on a 11" by 17" (US Tabloid) or 12" by 18" sheet and trim it down to 8.5" by 11" (US Letter).
When your document is trimmed down to 8.5" by 11", anything beyond the document size will be trimmed off. By extending the boundaries of your graphic elements and images, we can make sure that you will not end up with any unseemly white gaps due to errors in the cutting process.
This document outlines the steps for setting up an for an 8.5" by 11" document with bleed that will be printed on a tabloid (11" by 17") sheet of paper. To produce a bleed for an 11" by 17" document, you must print on a 12" by 18" sheet.
Creating an InDesign Document with Bleeds
- Create a new document (File > New > Document) or edit an existing document (File > Document Setup).
- Click More Options. Under the Bleed and Slug option, enter in the value 0.125" into all four columns of bleed. (Figure 1)
- The following colored guides represent (Figure 2):
- red guide
- black guide
- pink/purple guide
- bleed edge
- trim edge (or document edge)
- design margin (optional)
Figure 1: Setting the bleed options
Figure 2: Creating a bleeding design element
Exporting a PDF Document with Bleeds
- Export to PDF (File > Export).
- Under Marks and Bleeds panel, enable Crop Marks and Use Document Bleed Settings. (Figure 3)
- Select other desired features and click Export.
Figure 3: Setting the bleed and crop marks in a PDF
Figure 4: Example of a PDF exported with bleeds and crop marks