Printing presses print onto larger sheets that are then trimmed to size. No trimming is perfectly precise, so if your background stops exactly at the edge, you risk thin white slivers appearing.
'Bleed' means extending your background and images about 3mm beyond the final trim line. When the piece is cut, the design runs cleanly off the edge with no white borders.
The 'safe area' is the opposite: keep important text and logos at least 3–5mm inside the trim so nothing critical is cut off. Between the two sits the trim line — where the final cut happens.
If you're supplying artwork, add 3mm bleed and crop marks on export. Not sure? Send us your file and we'll check it free before anything goes to press.
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