Bleed, trim and safe area for shop cards.

Know which edge you are looking at

• Trim: the intended cut and the finished card’s size.
• Bleed: extra artwork beyond that cut. Extend any background colour or photo that should reach the finished edge through this area.
• Safe area: an inset inside the cut. Keep important text, logos and parts of photos within it.

These definitions follow MOO’s design guidance ↗. The required distances depend on the printer and product.

Use your printer’s numbers

1. Get the template first. Confirm the finished size, bleed required on each edge, safe inset and export instructions. The safe inset and bleed can have different values.
2. Continue the edge background. Adding white padding around a coloured card does not extend that colour. An intentionally white design is a different case. Keep essential content away from the cut.
3. Follow its export and proof process. Check the exported artwork and the printer’s proof. Guides and PDF box dimensions alone do not show whether the actual background extends far enough.

Adobe’s bleed setup guide ↗ shows extending artwork past the finished edge and specifying bleed for individual edges.

One example, not a universal card size

The illustration uses a finished size of 85 × 55 mm. With 3 mm bleed on each of the four edges, its outer size is 91 × 61 mm: add 6 mm to each dimension. A separate 3 mm safe inset makes the illustrated safe area 79 × 49 mm.

Use the print shop’s values for your order. These example numbers do not establish a printer’s requirements or guarantee acceptance.

Check whether crop marks are wanted

Crop marks indicate where to cut; they do not extend the background. Adobe’s example includes them, while MOO asks for files without them ↗. Follow the instructions for your chosen printer.

Printing a test sheet yourself?

For home or in-shop printing, Card Sheet repeats one finished PNG, JPEG or WebP image on A4 or Letter. Use your browser’s print dialog, then check one test sheet at actual size with a ruler. Physical printer output has not been tested.

This free beta keeps the image in your browser. It does not create bleed or prepare artwork for a print shop.

Preparing the online listing as well?

MisePic’s photo studio makes JPEG, PNG and WebP copies in pixel dimensions for online listings. Print artwork needs its own design and export workflow.