A publication of. Let it Bleed. When, where, why and how to use bleeds and create print ready PDF s so your print provider will love you.

Transcription

1 A publication of Let it Bleed When, where, why and how to use bleeds and create print ready PDF s so your print provider will love you.

2 When Let it Bleed: Creating print ready PDF s with bleeds A bleed should be used in a document when any object is meant to go to the edge of the printed page. In this layout, the blue area on the left and the picture on the top both bleed. Share This Ebook! tpisolutionsink.com

3 Where Let it Bleed: Creating print ready PDF s with bleeds It is important to specify a bleed area when creating a document for print. In this example you ll see that the entire page is outlined in red, this represents the bleed area. Just inside the bleed area outlined in black is the actual page size. Notice that both the blue column and the image go past the page area and extend to the bleed. Share This Ebook! tpisolutionsink.com

4 Why Let it Bleed: Creating print ready PDF s with bleeds Setting up your document with bleeds in place will help ensure that your final printed piece is finished correctly. Bleeds are in place to give the person cutting down the job enough space to work with. If a printed piece has an object that should bleed but does not have a bleed area specified, it usually has to be undercut slightly to ensure that the object goes directly to the edge of the page. Having a bleed area in place prevents this. Share This Ebook! tpisolutionsink.com

5 how Let it Bleed: Creating print ready PDF s with bleeds Most Adobe programs have bleed options built into them. The next few pages will demonstrate how to create and export a print ready PDF with bleeds in InDesign, Illustrator & Photoshop. Share This Ebook! tpisolutionsink.com

6 Indesign When creating a new document in InDesign, button in the new file dialog box to display your bleed settings. Enter 0p9 or.125. When your document opens you will see a red box surrounding your page area, this is the bleed. As we said before, it s important to make sure that the object you want to bleed extends all the way to this red box, not just to the edge of the page. The next page shows examples of correct and incorrect uses of bleed.

7 Let it Bleed: Creating print ready PDF s with bleeds correct use of bleed incorrect use of bleed

8 Indesign Once your file is all set up, it s important to know how to export it correctly. The image on the right shows the correct options to select when exporting a PDF from InDesign. Follow these steps in the Export Adobe PDF dialogue box: Select Adobe PDF Preset: Press Quality To ensure that your PDF exports with a bleed, click on Marks and Bleeds and check off Use Document Bleed Settings. Click Export You now have a print quality PDF with bleeds!

9 illustrator Illustrator is very similar to InDesign when it comes to bleeds and print ready PDF output. The image to the right shows a new document setup with a bleed in place. Also note in the advanced settings that the color mode is CMYK and the raster effects are set to high (300 ppi), this is ideal for print output. Creating a PDF with bleeds from Illustrator works the same way as InDesign. Refer to the steps on the previous page for a recap on how to save your PDF correctly.

10 photoshop Photoshop does not support bleeds like InDesign and Illustrator, you have to make your own. When setting up the initial document, add.25 to both the width and the height. This will account for a.125 bleed around all 4 sides. The dialogue box to the right shows a new letter size page being created with this extra space added. Again as with Illustrator, always make sure you re working in the CMYK color mode with a resolution of at least 300 ppi. This will ensure you get the best quality print output.

11 photoshop Once your document is open, make sure your rulers and guides are visible, then drag a guide.125 from each of the outside edges. The area outside these guides will act as your bleed area. To the right is our letter sized page with the.125 bleed area all around indicated by the light blue guide lines.

12 photoshop Once you ve completed your design in Photoshop, there is one more important step to take before creating a PDF, you ll need to flatten your file. First, save your final Photoshop document as a PSD, so you ll have an editable copy should you need to make changes. Then go to Layer > Flatten Image. This will make your final PDF file size much easier to handle and ensure all of your layers translate properly.

13 photoshop Once your file has been flattened you re ready to save a PDF. You ll notice there is no option to include a bleed in the Save Adobe PDF window. Since we created the document oversized with bleed in mind we re all set. One more thing to look at is the compression tab, as we stated earlier, you should be working at 300 ppi with maximum image quality. You re now free to save your PDF.

14 If you have found this guide helpful, please spread the word and share. Do you have more questions on creating a print ready PDF? Feel free to contact us and remember: Let it Bleed Brought to you by: 45 Calvary Street Waltham, MA INKS tpisolutionsink.com