Bleed in printing refers to the area of an image that extends beyond the final trim edge (the cut line) of the printed piece. It’s used when you want images, colors, or backgrounds to go all the way to the edge of the sheet or page. This is usually referred to as a “full bleed” print.
Many people are unaware of this concept or do not fully account for it when it comes time to make their print. I recall once learning about a new customer who had ordered some fine art paper prints. She insisted that we use bleed, even though she wanted the print to be borderless. Her reasoning, and understandably so, was that her signature was right on the bottom right edge and would be partially trimmed away. Fortunately, she was quite adept at Photoshop, so she submitted the image for printing with the artificially generated extra imagery at the bottom that did not look out of place at all. It was just enough to allow her to have her signature preserved without the risk of any white of the paper to show, and kept her signature right on the bottom edge, but still visible after the print was cut. But as luck would have it, or perhaps just the opposite of luck, she decided to order some mats later, which ultimately obstructed the signature anyway, since the mat windows are always about 1/8″ less than the print size. I guess everyone learned a good lesson about bleed and composition because, since then, all her prints have had the signature well away from the edge.
I tell you this, not to belittle this person, since she made a similar mistake I once made when I was new to printing over 25 years ago. Instead, I use it to illustrate how it can affect a print. Borderless or full-bleed print is not just limited to fine art paper prints. A lot of other items we produce, from cards to mousepads, would incorporate this as well. Full bleed is essential for any print where you want color, images, or backgrounds to reach all the way to the edges with no visible white margins. Without this, you’ll end up with unwanted white slivers or uneven edges on your final prints.
How FinerWorks Uses Bleed for Borderless Prints
When it comes to giclee printing, FinerWorks prints on large rolls of paper/canvas, then cuts (trims) them down to your exact ordered size. Even with the precise equipment we use for cutting, there can be tiny shifts (fractions of a millimeter) due to mechanical tolerances, paper movement, or stacking multiple prints for cutting.
If your artwork stops exactly at the estimated trim line (no bleed), any slight misalignment during trimming leaves unprinted white paper showing on one or more sides.
How Much of My Image Will I Lose Due to Bleed?
This is a question sometimes asked of us. A lot of it depends on the type of print we are doing. For instance, with Fine Art Paper prints, we print your image slightly oversized (This means we automatically enlarge an image about 1/8″ total, which gives us an extra roughly 1/16″ inch per side. This is about half of what other printers might require. We then trim into that extra area, guaranteeing ink reaches the very edge even if the cut is off by a hair.
This applies to:
- All borderless giclee prints on fine art papers
- Kodak photo prints
- Posters
Items like greeting cards, which use a little older cutting technology, will require a more traditional bleed model of 1/8″ on each side. And some items, like our acrylic glass prints and metal prints, which utilize more human interaction in their production, may require a bleed up to 1/4″.
What Happens If You Don’t Use Bleed?
Occasionally, people will try to ignore the bleed and position their artwork right on the trim. But as explained earlier, it invariably leads to white slivers on edges, or even potentially an off-center appearance. This is a big mistake since bleed margins are approximations where the print will be trimmed. Plus, we can’t always catch this because of the rate at which printing and cutting occur, but when we do, this could mean FinerWorks rejects the file, which can lead to order delays.
Quick Setup Tips for FinerWorks Borderless Giclee Prints
Upload your file at the exact final print size (i.e., 11×14 inches). Do not add extra bleed yourself. Our system handles the minimal oversizing automatically for borderless options.
Make sure backgrounds, colors, or images extend right to (or slightly beyond) the edges of your file, no stopping short with white/empty space.
Keep text, signatures, and critical subjects at least 0.25–0.5 inches inside the edge (we call this the safe zone) to avoid mats or frame lips covering important elements.
In conclusion, full bleed ensures your borderless prints from FinerWorks look professionally edge-to-edge every time, compensating for the unavoidable realities of physical cutting. It’s the difference between a clean gallery-quality result and one with annoying white edges! Always double-check their order preview to confirm it will be truly borderless.
Giclee Printing at FinerWorks
One of the largest ranges of paper selections, while using the highest level of archival print technology allowing superior detail and color, you can create custom giclee prints of your artwork and photos.