- Trim Marks: One element to keep in mind during the layout of a document is trim marks. Trim marks, also known as crop marks, show the printer where to cut the paper. In a standard business card or poster layout, crop marks are small lines that are located in each corner of a document. These lines, one horizontal and the other vertical, should be incorporated in the document you send for printing. You need to place your crop marks outside of the design so your document won’t be improperly cut by the printer.
- Final size of your pages: When you cut along the trim marks, the final page size, called the trimmed page size, can be calculated. This final page size should be supplied to the printer, because this will determine the specifications the printing machine will use to complete the job successfully.
- Bleed: Bleeds guarantee that your design has clean and neat edges. Bleeds are images that extend beyond the design or ‘live area’ of a page. This means that the images stretch beyond the trim marks. Background colours are an example of a common use of a bleed but bleeds can also include images or other design elements that extend all the way to the edge of your printed document or page. If you don’t make use of bleeds you would risk a tiny bit of space showing up on the edge of your printed page, if it was not cut exactly on the trim marks.
Ensuring the layout of your document is correct will save you from going back and forth with the printer, as well as time and money. Partnering with a professional printing company means your documents will turn out presentable and polished. Contact Minuteman Press in Meadowdale today for all of your printing needs.