Bleed

How do I create Bleed in Photoshop? These basic instructions are for version CS3 . You may have to adapt them for other versions. Well, first thing to say here is that Photoshop is a photo editing software which you use to create a design to place into a page layout software like InDesign. However, there is no reason why you can’t create a sucessful design for one or two pages and incorporate bleed. Let’s assume you want an A4 document and you want images to go right to the edge of the sheet. We now know that we have to extend these images off the edge of the page so when guillotined down, we end up with a nice clean edge with no white border showing. Therefore we need to start with a sheet bigger than A4. The first question though is CMYK or RGB? If you know what you are doing and work in CMYK then follow the example. If you’re not use RGB. Now we need to set up some guides for ourself so we can see the Bleed area. We want to be accurate so don’t rely on dragging guides into position. Instead, choose View > New Guide and set 4 guides exactly 3mm from the edge of the sheet. (Vertical ones at 0.3cm & 21.3cm) (Horizontal ones at 0.3cm & 30cm) That’s the Bleed sorted out. Now we need to add margins for ourself to make sure we don’t put any text or important data too close to the edge of where the sheet is going to be cut. It’s exactly the same procedure. View > New Guide and set 4 guides exactly 1.0cm from the edge of the sheet. (Vertical ones at 1.0cm & 20.6cm) (Horizontal ones at 1.0cm & 29.3cm) Now View > Lock Guides