File preparation guide
How to add bleed to a print file in any app
Bleed is the part of the design that runs past the trim line. Each app sets it in a different place, but the rule is the same everywhere: the background runs out, the text stays in.
What bleed is, in one line
The sheet is printed larger than the product and trimmed afterwards, and the blade moves a little. So any background, image or color bar meant to reach the edge continues past the trim line on every side. The common value is 3 mm, and the product spec decides. The difference between bleed, the safe margin and the trim line has its own guide.
Canva
Set the design to the finished size of the product. In the File menu (or settings) turn on "Show print bleed" and stretch the background to the outer line. When downloading, choose "PDF Print" and check "Crop marks and bleed".
Illustrator
Go to File → Document Setup and fill in the Bleed fields: 3 mm on every side. Stretch the background to the edge of the bleed area. When saving as PDF, in the Marks and Bleeds tab, check "Use Document Bleed Settings".
InDesign
Go to File → Document Setup, open "Bleed and Slug" and enter 3 mm on every side. Stretch the background to the red bleed line. When exporting to PDF, in the Marks and Bleeds tab, check "Use Document Bleed Settings".
Photoshop
Photoshop has no bleed field, so enlarge the canvas: 3 mm per side, which is 6 mm total in width and 6 mm in height. Continue the image to the new edge and keep the text inside the original size. Save as PDF or TIFF, as the print shop asks.
I have a PDF with no bleed
Do not enlarge the whole page, because the text would end up near the edge. Extend only the background or image a little past the edge. If there is nothing to extend from, ask the print shop what can be done — sometimes the bleed can be completed without going back to the design.
What Drapress checks when the file is uploaded
Drapress measures the bleed on each side against the product spec. When bleed is missing it can be added in one click — the bleed is built by stretching the outer millimeter of the page — and you see the result in the proof before you approve. Text inside the safe margin is marked on the page itself.
See it in action
In this video (75 seconds, no sound) a sample file goes through the Drapress check, from upload to sending it to the print shop.
Read the video as text
The file looked fine on screen. At the press, the bleed falls short. And a photo that may print blurry. Upload your PDF. Your original is kept. Live view of every check: size, bleed, fonts, colors, images. Bleed missing on page 3: a thin white strip may show after trim. Step by step: the photo on page 5? Replace it, or accept it as it is. Screen colors (RGB): the shop converts them for print; shades may shift. Missing bleed? A few clicks build it from the page's own edge. It fixes only what is safe to fix. Before and after: the background now runs past the cut line. A warning left? You decide, then send it to the print shop.
What an automatic check cannot catch
Stretching the outer millimeter suits backgrounds and photos. A design with a frame, a pattern or a logo near the edge may look different after stretching — the proof shows it, and if needed you fix it in the original file.
