How to create a bleed in Photoshop for printing at Guru Printers. When you are getting files ready for printing you may need some help. The staff at Guru Printers is always willing to answer questions so do not hesitate to call us. The only problem is what do you do when we are closed? We are going to try to help you in this article on how to create a bleed in Photoshop for printing. But if you are still having difficulties, just wait until morning and we will help. First of all, what is a bleed. If you are familiar with printing terms then skip this paragraph and the next, but if you are wondering what we are talking about, read on. Bleed is a printing term that refers to the part of the image along the edges that essentially runs off the edge of the printed area of interest. It turns out to be the part of the print that will be trimmed off. Having a bleed along the edge allows for any small amount of movement of the paper that may occur during printing. It is not unusual for artwork and background colors to extend into the bleed area. One of the most important things that a bleed ensures is that no unprinted edges will occur in the final trimmed picture. It is extremely difficult to print exactly to the edge of a sheet of photo paper. In order for your pictures to go right out to the edge we must print a slightly larger area than is needed, then trim off the excess as we create the finished size. Image files must account for this slightly larger image. Bleeds in the U.S. are usually 1/8 of an inch while bleeds in Europe and the UK are measured as 2 to 5 mm. Exactly how should you go about preparing a bleed in Photoshop? Start by setting the Dpi to at least 300. To create the bleed you will need a canvas that is slightly larger than the printed area. Since you are looking to have a 1/8 inch bleed you need a canvas that is at least 0.125 inches larger than the picture on all four sides. This means that you need to add 0.25 inches to each dimension. An example would be if you are working on a 4 x 6 picture you need a canvas that is 4.25 x 6.25 inches in size. Create your design, then save. Hopefully this sounds simple. Do not make it harder than it really is! Full bleed printing is usually not possible on home printers. They are set up to include the white edge with no other options. It is likely that you will need to have your items printed by a professional print shop such as Guru Printers. We gladly print any item, photo, flyer, or otherwise, that you have created at home. Just load up the files onto a transportable medium and bring it in. If you are worried that you may not have done everything just right be sure to mention that and we will check each file before we print it. We want you to end up with the exact print you were planning on. for printing at Guru Printers. When you are getting files ready for printing you may need some help. The staff at Guru Printers is always willing to answer questions so do not hesitate to call us. The only problem is what do you do when we are closed? We are going to try to help you in this article on how to create a bleed in Photoshop for printing. But if you are still having difficulties, just wait until morning and we will help. First of all, what is a bleed. If you are familiar with printing terms then skip this paragraph and the next, but if you are wondering what we are talking about, read on. Bleed is a printing term that refers to the part of the image along the edges that essentially runs off the edge of the printed area of interest. It turns out to be the part of the print that will be trimmed off. Having a bleed along the edge allows for any small amount of movement of the paper that may occur during printing. It is not unusual for artwork and background colors to extend into the bleed area. One of the most important things that a bleed ensures is that no unprinted edges will occur in the final trimmed picture. It is extremely difficult to print exactly to the edge of a sheet of photo paper. In order for your pictures to go right out to the edge we must print a slightly larger area than is needed, then trim off the excess as we create the finished size. Image files must account for this slightly larger image. Bleeds in the U.S. are usually 1/8 of an inch while bleeds in Europe and the UK are measured as 2 to 5 mm. Exactly how should you go about preparing a bleed in Photoshop? Start by setting the Dpi to at least 300. To create the bleed you will need a canvas that is slightly larger than the printed area. Since you are looking to have a 1/8 inch bleed you need a canvas that is at least 0.125 inches larger than the picture on all four sides. This means that you need to add 0.25 inches to each dimension. An example would be if you are working on a 4 x 6 picture you need a canvas that is 4.25 x 6.25 inches in size. Create your design, then save. Hopefully this sounds simple. Do not make it harder than it really is! Full bleed printing is usually not possible on home printers. They are set up to include the white edge with no other options. It is likely that you will need to have your items printed by a professional print shop such as Guru Printers. We gladly print any item, photo, flyer, or otherwise, that you have created at home. Just load up the files onto a transportable medium and bring it in. If you are worried that you may not have done everything just right be sure to mention that and we will check each file before we print it. We want you to end up with the exact print you were planning on.