Cropping And Bleed

!! When creating your own page layouts it is very important to understand trim as a standard part of printing, and how to account for that trim.

Note 1:
When explaining Cropping and Bleed, books are categorized into 2 different categories determined by the size of the project.
1: Standard-size books - books sized 6x9 or larger
2: Mini-books - any book smaller than 6x9
This explanation is for all Standard size books - for an explanation on Minibook Cropping and Bleed please scroll all the way down to the last section of the page titled Minibooks.

Note 2:
All words highlighted in Green are described in the Vocabulary section at the bottom.

Cropping and Bleed for Interior Pages:

There is an automatic trim that occurs during manufacturing that’s necessary to ensure all the pages are flush. This automatic trim is approximately 1/8 inch on all sides, for all standard size books. This 1/8” is called the “trim area” and will be cut off the page during manufacturing.

Due to the potential for shifting with digital printing, we do NOT guarantee any content that is within a full .25” from each edge of the page for all standard size books - and call this .25” the "Caution Area." 

To help give you a visual we have created a crop-guide that is available at the Layout Preview (and Step 1 if you are using the Designer). It is a Red guide representing the caution area, covering .25” of each of the edges of the page.

Since it is only 1/8” that is guaranteed to be trimmed, and the additional 1/8” is established for the potential trim that possibly can occur with shifting during printing (1/8”+1/8” = .25”), then we do not guarantee any content that falls underneath the Red Crop Guide (.25”) TO BE trimmed, or NOT TO BE trimmed.

The way we suggest accounting for this area is to create what is called a “bleed.” The bleed is the part on the side of a document that gives the printer a small amount of space to account for trim or movement of the paper.

In order to produce the optimal results, we suggest that all vital content be kept within the caution area, while all non-vital content is fully extended to the edge of the page.  This ensures both: that there is not any vital content that will be trimmed, and also that there will be no unwanted solid border remaining around the edge of the page. 

Here is an example of a page created in Photoshop with the guides established .25” from the edges:



Here is an example from the Layout Preview with the crop guides visible / Red Crop guide for Standard size books (.25”) - Disregard the Light Pink mini-book guide:



Here is an example of what the page will look like once manufacturing is completed:

Sizing Your Pages

When creating your interior pages, ideally each will be created with an extra 1/8" on each side. This will equal an additional 1/4" (.25”) total to the height and width of the project.

(Example: A page created for a 9"x7" photo book ideally will be created at 9.25" x 7.25".)

Note - projects uploaded as a PDF or interior pages uploaded to a gallery are both accepted at exact trim size. (Example: a 9x7 can be accepted as a true 9x7 - it is ideal though to add the additional .25” to each trim size.)

Photo Book Size	PDF Size
6x9	6.25"x9.25"
9x7	9.25"x7.25"
8.5"x11"	8.75"x11.25"
14"x11"	14.25"x11.25"

One Step Further / Basic Introduction to Setting Margins for Graphics / Print Design 101

Design for print has it’s own ideal set of rules, as any design has. Cropping/bleed/trim and setting your margins are a huge part of this. We’ve covered how to set up your document in order to account for what will be trimmed. Here’s a quick 1..2 on how to set up your document in consideration of the aesthetic placement of vital content on your pages.

Setting a double-guide
The look of elements placed on your page is ultimately your aesthetic preference. Taught design for print generally encourages elements not to fall directly against the edge of the page - the eye tends to like a little room around the edges for the most part.

So when creating a page it is often beneficial to visualize where the trim will occur as well as to visualize an additional buffer to keep all your vital elements from butting directly up against that trim. This is easily accomplished by setting a double guide - or if creating the book in the Designer then to simply look and make sure that your vital elements are not pushed directly up against the Crop-guides available there for you.

Using a 9x7 as an example I would set my document to 9.25x7.25 - then set a guide .25" in from each edge, then set an additional guide another .25" (or whatever placement you choose) in from that first guide. I extend all my non-vital background content to the edge of the page to ensure I won't end up with an unwanted border if the trim is closer to the 1/8" side, and keep all my vital content within my guides to ensure they won't be trimmed if the trim ends up closer to the .25" side.

Once again, this is completely subjective but if applied, this always yields ideal results.

Continuing with the example from the standard size book example above, here is an example of the same set up in Photoshop but with the addition of a double-guide: 1 guide set at the “Caution Area” / .25”, and the additional aesthetic guide set .25” in from the set caution area guide. All vital elements are then adjusted to be within the guides, with the background fully extended to the edge of the page:



Here is an example from the Layout Preview with the crop guides visible / Red Crop guide for Standard size books (.25”) - Disregard the Light Pink mini-book guide:



Here is an example of what the page will look like once manufacturing is completed:



For any bulk order, or extremely important project we suggest to proof everything. Then, if you feel you can (or want to) push vital content further towards the edges then you can do so before the final print run.

Cropping and Bleed for Covers:

Softcover:
Approximately 1/8” is trimmed from a Softcover, therefore the cropping and bleed is suggested at .25” exactly as you would an interior page. This bleed is represented by the Red Softcover guide.
Hardcover:
Hardcovers are created by printing the image onto a page.  Then that printed page gets wrapped around the hardcover board very similar to wrapping a present.  The black endleaf is then glued over the inside of the cover in order to create a finished/polished look.  In order to accomplish this wrap (without folding over your vital content) a wider bleed is required for the manufacturing of Hardcovers.  This bleed is roughly 1/2 inch, and is represented by the Light Pink hardcover fold guide viewable at the Cover Step. Please note that all content that is 1/2 inch from the edge will not be folded over, but will be directly against the edge of the cover.

Click here to view the Cover-step screencast

The Previews:

You can view your project in reference to the crop guides most accurately at the Layout Preview in Step 3.

For the Layout Preview:
(The crop guides are able to be viewed or removed by simply clicking or un-clicking the "Show Crop Guides" at the top left of the preview.)
The Red crop guide is for standard size projects (9x6 or larger)
The Pink crop guide is for mini-books (anything smaller than a 9x6)
For the Flip Preview:
The Flip preview offers 1 single yellow crop guide that represents both the standard size and mini-book size crop-guides combined, and is therefore more aggressive than necessary for standard size books.  For most accurate crop guides, when considering your work, please use the Layout Preview.

Vocab, Vocabulary, Terms, Terminology:

Crop Guide - A Red/Light Pink/or Yellow guide located at the Previews, and the Designer. This colored guide is laid over the edges of the page in order to give you a visual reference of the caution area.

Bleed - The bleed is the part on the side of a document that gives the printer a small amount of space to account for trim or movement of the paper.

Trim / Trim Area- 1/8” of the page that will automatically be trimmed/cut off the page

Caution Area - The area underneath the crop guide designated for your size project where content is not guaranteed TO BE trimmed, or NOT TO BE trimmed

Standard Size Book - Books sized 6x9 or larger.

Mini Book - Books sized smaller than 6x9.

Layout Preview - The preview of the Layout of your project available at Step 3 / Webstore Options page. This preview show's the most accurate view of the crop guides in relation to your project.

The Designer - Viovio's Free online book creation software!

End leaf - A black page attached the interior front and interior back of a Hardcover binging.

Cover Step - Step 2 in the design process for both PDF Uploads and Designer created books.

Manufacturing - Physically printing and binding the book, calendar or card / Production of the projects.

Vital content / Vital Elements - Content/Elements that cannot be trimmed at all, or it would ruin the page. (Ex: text, faces, etc.)

Non-Vital Content / Non-Vital Elements - Content/Elements that are intended to be trimmed or irrelevant if it is trimmed. (Ex: excess sky in an image, background pattern, solid color background on the page)

Bulk Order - order of multiple books, typically 5 or more.

Minibooks: Cropping and Bleed for Minibooks

Minibook Size Projects: anything smaller than 6x9

Minibook: When creating your own page layouts it is very important to understand trim as a standard part of printing, and how to account for that trim when creating a small Minibook size project.

Note
All words highlighted in Green are described in the Vocabulary section above.

Minibook: Cropping and Bleed for Interior Pages:

There is an automatic trim that occurs during manufacturing that’s necessary to ensure all the pages are flush. Mini-book trim is more aggressive due to the manufacturing demands necessary to create a book at such a small size. This automatic trim for mini-books is approximately .25" inch on all sides. This .25” is called the “trim area” and will be cut off the page during manufacturing.

Due to the potential for shifting with digital printing, we do NOT guarantee any content on mini-books that is within a full 1/2” from each edge of the page for all standard size books - and call this 1/2” the "Caution Area."

To help give you a visual we have created a crop-guide that is available at the Layout Preview (and Step 1 if you are using the Designer). It is a Light Pink guide representing the caution area, covering 1/2” of each of the edges of the page.

Since it is only .25” that is guaranteed to be trimmed, and the additional .25” is established for the potential trim that possibly can occur with shifting during printing (.25+.25” = .25”), then we do not guarantee any content that falls underneath the Red Crop Guide (1/2”) TO BE trimmed, or NOT TO BE trimmed.

The way we suggest accounting for this area is to create what is called a “bleed.” The bleed is the part on the side of a document that gives the printer a small amount of space to account for trim or movement of the paper.

In order to produce the optimal results, we suggest that all vital content be kept within the caution area, while all non-vital content is fully extended to the edge of the page. This ensures both: that there is not any vital content that will be trimmed, and also that there will be no unwanted solid border remaining around the edge of the page.

Minibook: Here is an example of the mini-book page created in Photoshop with the guides established at .1/2” (.50) from the edges:



Minibook: Here is an example from the Layout Preview with the crop guides visible / Light Pink Crop guide for mini-books (1/2”) - Disregard the Red outer standard book guide:



Minibook: Here is an example of what the page will look like once manufacturing is completed:

Minibook: Sizing Your Pages

When creating your interior pages, ideally each will be created with an extra 1/8" on each side. This will equal an additional 1/4" (.25”) total to the height and width of the project.

(Example: A page created for a 5"x5" photo book ideally will be created at 5.25" x 5.25".)

Note - projects uploaded as a PDF or interior pages uploaded to a gallery are both accepted at exact trim size. (Example: a 5x5 can be accepted as a true 5x5 - it is ideal though to add the additional .25” to each trim size = 5.25x5.25.)

Minbook: One Step Further / Basic Introduction to Setting Margins for Graphics / Print Design 101

Design for print has it’s own ideal set of rules, as any design has. Cropping/bleed/trim and setting your margins are a huge part of this. We’ve covered how to set up your document in order to account for what will be trimmed. Here’s a quick 1..2 on how to set up your document in consideration of the aesthetic placement of vital content on your pages.

Minibook: Content Review
The look of elements placed on your page is ultimately your aesthetic preference. Taught design for print generally encourages elements not to fall directly against the edge of the page - the eye tends to like a little room around the edges for the most part.

So when creating a page it is often beneficial to visualize where the trim will occur as well as to visualize an additional buffer to keep all your vital elements from butting directly up against that trim.

For any bulk order, or extremely important project we suggest to proof everything. Then, if you feel you can (or want to) push vital content further towards the edges then you can do so before the final print run.

Minibook: Cropping and Bleed for Covers:

Softcover:
Approximately 1/8” is trimmed from a Softcover, therefore the cropping and bleed is suggested at .25” exactly as you would an interior page. This bleed is represented by the Red Softcover guide.
Hardcover:
Hardcovers are created by printing the image onto a page.  Then that printed page gets wrapped around the hardcover board very similar to wrapping a present.  The black endleaf is then glued over the inside of the cover in order to create a finished/polished look.  In order to accomplish this wrap (without folding over your vital content) a wider bleed is required for the manufacturing of Hardcovers.  This bleed is roughly 1/2 inch, and is represented by the Light Pink hardcover fold guide viewable at the Cover Step.

Click here to view the Cover-step screencast

Minibook: The Previews:

You can view your project in reference to the crop guides most accurately at the Layout Preview in Step 3.

For the Layout Preview:
(The crop guides are able to be viewed or removed by simply clicking or un-clicking the "Show Crop Guides" at the top left of the preview.)
The Light Pink inner crop guide is for mini-books (anything smaller than a 9x6)
For the Flip Preview:
The Flip preview offers 1 single yellow crop guide that represents the mini-book size crop-guides.  For most accurate crop guides, when considering your work, please use the Layout Preview.