Quick Guide for Designing with Bleeds in InDesign and
Exporting as PDF with Crop Marks
This Quick Guide was tested with InDesign, Creative Suite 3. It works with other versions, but users shouldwatch out for minor variations.
Bleeds
When any image or element on a page touches the edge of the page, extends beyond the trim edge, and leaves no margin, it is said to bleed. A design may bleed or extend off one or more sides. Photos, rules, clip art, and decorative text elements can bleed off the page.
With bleed jobs, a printer will print on a larger size sheet and then cut to the final page size. For example, Barnard Print Services commonly prints on 12" x 18" paper size and then crops (trims) to a final 11"x17" poster with bleeds on all sides.
SettingBleeds in InDesign Document Setup
Special measures must be taken when designing for bleeds, but professional page layout programs like InDesign make it easy to create a bleed area. The screen shot below from the InDesign Document Setup window shows a final page size of 6" x 9" plus a bleed of .125" on all sides. You should create the final page size appropriate for your design, but a bleed of .125" on all sides is standard.
(Note: you may have to click “More Options” in the Document Setup window in order to see the Bleedand Slug section below.)
Creating Your Design with Bleeds
Once you have set up your document with the proper page size and bleed area, you can now add your text and other objects, including those that bleed. Below is a screen shot of a 7" x 10" InDesign document with bleed. It includes a text box that does not bleed, as well as a yellow rectangle that bleeds off three sides of the page. Notice how the yellow rectangle extends .125" past the 7" x 10" final page size (bounded by blue border)up to the edge of the larger bleed box (bounded by red border) created by InDesign from the Document Setup described above.
[Note: the image below has been reduced to fit on the page, so the dimensions are not 7" x 10".]
Exporting as PDF with Bleed Settings and Crop Marks
How does the printer know where to trim the page? Printers use crop marks. Crop (trim) marksadd hairline horizontal and vertical rules that define where the page should be trimmed. Using InDesign, you select crop marks in the Print Dialog Box or in the Export Adobe PDF dialog box.
The screen shot below is taken from the InDesign Export Adobe PDF dialog box. Start by selecting the High Quality Print Adobe PDF Preset, which is appropriate for digital color printing at Barnard. Then go to Marks and Bleeds and check Crop Marks and Use Document Bleed Settings. That’s it. The crop marks will display in the PDF, allowing the printer to trim to the proper page size with bleeds.\
[The Bleed Marks box should be left un-checked, unless requested by the printer.]
Final PDF with Crop Marks
After exporting your InDesign file as shown above, you will have an Acrobat PDF file with crop marks automatically positioned for the printer. Make sure all your InDesign elements and type appear on your PDF. Assuming everything checks out, you are now done. Congratulations!
Created by Barnard College Print Services