Printers Bleed Ink Off the Edge of the Page
To bleed is to lose blood. In printing it means to run an image off the edge of the paper, and the extra margin is called the bleed.
To bleed is to lose blood, and by extension to lose anything gradually. Printing uses the word precisely: an image that *bleeds* runs off the edge of the trimmed page, and designers add a *bleed* margin of a few millimetres beyond the trim line so that slight cutting errors never leave a white sliver. A page with no bleed has a border whether you wanted one or not.
- To lose blood. *The wound bled freely.*
- To drain gradually. *The company is bleeding money.*
- In printing — to run off the page edge. *A full-bleed photograph.*
- To release air. *Bleed the radiator.*
- Bleeding edge — beyond cutting edge. *Bleeding-edge technology.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | bleed | It bleeds easily. |
| Past | bled | The cut bled. |
| Noun | bleed | A 3mm bleed. |
| Noun | bleeding | Internal bleeding. |
| Related | blood | Loss of blood. |
- Apply pressure until it stops bleeding.First aid.
- Set a three-millimetre bleed on the artwork.Print design.
- Bleed the radiators before winter.Plumbing.
Why bleed exists in printing
- Paper shifts slightly as it is cut in stacks
- Without bleed, a one-millimetre error leaves a white edge
- Standard bleed is around three millimetres beyond the trim line
- Trim marks show the printer where the final edge falls
- Safe area — keep text well inside, for the same reason
Old English *bledan*, from *blod*, blood. The printing sense dates from the nineteenth century and the financial one from the twentieth.
What is bleed in printing?
Artwork extended beyond the trim line so that cutting inaccuracies never expose the paper edge. Three millimetres is a common standard.
What does bleeding edge mean?
Technology so new that it is still risky to use — a step beyond cutting edge, with the danger made explicit.