Bleed
The very edges of the document are called the bleed area. To prevent an
unwanted white border from showing at the edge of your document, be sure
to extend any background colors or design elements all the way to the
edge.
Trim Marks
Trim lines are the finished size of the document. The document is cut
close to the trim line, but because of the mechanical tolerances involved
in printing, the actual cut can happen anywhere between the bleeds and the
safe margin. This is why it is important to keep your text and important
images within the safe margin.
Full Bleed vs. Trim Size
When to create your document at the full bleed size If you are working in
an illustration program (such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw) or a
photo editing program (Such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Photo-Paint), we
recommend that you create your document at the full bleed size. This will
prevent any white edges from showing at the borders after the final
product is trimmed.
When to create your document at the trim size If you are working in a
layout program (such as QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign) we recommend that
you create your document at the trim size and include the specified amount
of bleed for your product (.137”). When you export your document as a PDF
for upload, make sure to include the bleed in your output settings so that
the final upload PDF document is at the full bleed size for your product.
Safe Area / Safe Margins
The safe margins are borders that are definitely inside the place where
the cut will take place. Please remember to keep all important
information, like names, addresses, phone numbers or logos within the safe
margin (at least .137” from the edge) to ensure that they aren’t cut off
when your document is trimmed.