As a general rule, no matter which program we use for layout, the document page we create should match the final trimmed size of the publication. (This does not apply to Photoshop, but then that isn't a page layout program anyway.) Whatever we intend as bleed (background color, image, line, etc.) should “hang over” the edge of this area.
This approach has several advantages:
- we don't make the mistake of laying the pages out in spreads,
- while laying out, it's easier to see where the cut will be, and we don't get closer to it than we should with content that must not be cut off,
- if we also turn on the crop marks and the 3 mm of bleed information when saving the PDF, the file information really will contain the final size, which makes electronic imposition easier,
- we can avoid the otherwise very bad habit of creating, say, a business card on an A4 sheet (without bleed) and marking the place of the desired cut with a frame.
What is bleed?
The importance of bleed cannot be emphasized enough. A single poster can still be trimmed precisely all the way around with a utility knife, but with larger quantities and folded sheets you absolutely have to take into account that, however precise the presses are, the possible stretching of the paper, the uneven size of the sheets and the slight movement of the print make it impossible to cut a stack of paper to an exact size; that is why 3 mm of bleed, that is, extra area, has to be created.
szek4 szek7
A4 page without bleed elements
(no background color, etc.)
A4 page with bleed elements
(background color, image, line)
szek8 szek6
A4 page with the wrong settings
(no bleed beyond the crop marks)
A4 page with the right settings
Let's not forget: our work doesn't end once the page has been put together. Let's hold ourselves to a high standard and pay attention not only to typography, the choice of a special typeface and striking images; let's also look through the text one more time – text that lately (to save costs?, for lack of time?, out of laziness?, out of carelessness?) gets treated more and more like a stepchild – searching it for spelling or content errors. More eyes see more, so where possible let's involve not only our coworkers but also the customer in this work. It is a very painful (and oh, how often experienced...) moment when our customer notices a glaring error while picking up the finished job...
(Let me share a story here and now. As a Linotype operator just starting out, I was lucky enough to work with an older, seasoned colleague who in his youth had still worked at a privately owned print shop. The owner didn't want to spend money on a proofreader, so he sent him on his way with the following advice: “If you get the word pánik (panic) wrong, so be it – at worst everyone will be talking about it, it's good advertising, the circulation goes up. But if you spell kályha (stove) with a dotted j, you're fired.”) And since this website can't be perfect either, if anyone finds a spelling mistake in it, please let me know – in return, the coffee is on me.
