How to put bleeds on Adobe Illustrator files

Digital printing services,postcard,business cards,poster,flyers,letterhead,fridge magnet,docket book > Preparing files, help & links > How to prepare Illustrator CS4 files for printing > How to put bleeds on Adobe Illustrator files

  

Adobe Illustrator is a lovely program that permits bleeds to be placed upon with ease.

Bleeds can be placed upon an Illustrator file at any time, and this page will show you how to place those bleeds onto the file from the moment it is created.

First, open a new file in Adobe Illustrator (see below).

 

Your screen with then look similar to the screen shot below.

Second, set up the file correctly. The information in the above image is for a business card that is to be printed by TheOnlinePrinter. The required information is highlighted with a red arrow, and that relevant information is:

  • The file's name. please put is a useful name. "Business Card" is not sufficient as a name of a job, as your commercial printer will have lots of jobs named "Business Card". Be inventive and specific. For instance, name the file "Leslie Miller's Business Card" or "Bob's Hardware Business card". This will enable your commercial printer to distinguish the type of job from another (e.g.: distinguish a business card from a postcard or docket book) and enable that same commercial printer to distinguish one specific job from another specific job (e.g.: distinguish a "Bob's Hardware Business cards" file from a "Sam's Bookkeeping" busi9ness card file).
  • The Size of the finished job. This is the size of the job when it is finished. The measurementts in the above image are for business cards that are printed by TheOnlinePrinter. Check with your own commercial printer to see what sizes he/she requires. Standard metric sizes in Australia are:
    • Business cards and appointment cards — 90mm x 55mm;
    • A3 — 420mm x 297mm;
    • A4 (size of a standard business letter) — 297mm x 210mm;
    • A5 (half the size of a standard business letter) — 210mm x 148mm;
    • A6 (one-quarter the size of a standard business letter) — 148mm x 105mm;
    • A7 (one-eighth the size of a standard business letter) — 105mm x 74mm;
    • DL (one-third the size of a standard business letter) — 210mm x 99mm.
  • The colour mode. TheOnlinePrinter prints using the CMYK colour mode. Your commercial printer might print using the RGB colour mode. Determine which colour mode your commercial printer uses.
  • The file's resolution. TheOnlinePrinter prints using a 300dpi press. Some printers use a 150dpi process. If you are unsure which process your commercial printer uses, then set the file's resolution at 300dpi — the worst thing it can do is make the file a bit bigger.

The click "OK". This will creat a new file, and it will look a little like the image that nis below. The black outline is the edge of your finished job. In our example, the box is for a business card file.

  

The next thing to do on your Illustrator file is to get your ruler showing. The image below shows how you can get a ruler showing on an Illustrator file that is Apple/Mac-based. The short-cut keys are "Apple" + "R" for Macs; and, "Windows" + "R" for PCs.

 

The rulers will then appear at the top and on the left of your Illustratr pages (see below). If you look closely, you will notice that thr rulers on the Illustrator pages are numbered, and the Zero ("0") is in line with the bottom left corner of the finished size. You will also notice that the card in our example measures (according to the rulers at the top and on the left) 90mm x 55mm — this is the correct size for our business card.

 

  

Now for the "bleed" lines. Place your mouse over the top ruler. 'Hold down' the mouse button and 'drag' the mouse down to where the bleed line should be. All bleeds for TheOnlinePrinter should be AT LEAST 3mm outside the black box. The top bleed in our example is 3mm from the edge of the top of the card 9at 58mm). you then do the same thing on all the other edges of the card.

When you have any background colours or images that must print right to the edge of the card, you make sure that those background colours or images go to the bleed line (AT LEAST to the bleed line — you can go further if you want.

  

  

You then put in the safety margin lines.

These lines are created in the same way as the bleed lines, but are AT LEAST 5mm inside the edge of the file. If you are creating a file for a job that is bigger than a business card, then place the safety margin box AT LEAST 7mm inside the edges of the file.

When you make your file, please be sure that ALL important text and images are placed inside the safety margin lines. this will ensure:

  • That no impotant information is cut off when we trim your job; and
  • That your job looks balanced if the job is not trimmed at the exact spot that it should be trimmed.

So, now that you have a file that has the bleed lines and safety margin lines, you can start creating your file.