Bleed Explained
When we print your custom scratch off posters, we often print on large format materials, meaning multiple individual posters will be printed on one big sheet. As such, we need to cut each scratch poster to separate it into an individual printed product. We do this using a professional print guillotine, which can accurately cut through hundreds of sheets.
However, sometimes micromovements can cause very small discrepancies in the cutting process. This is why we suggest a bleed area – which is an extension of your background colour, with no design elements (text, images etc) around the edges of your scratch poster design. (For top tips on poster artwork creation, take a look at our Design Tips).
How much bleed do my scratch off posters need?
We advise to add 3mm all around your custom scratch poster design. Your background colour, pattern etc will need to reach the far edges of this area.
Document set up with no bleed
Document set up with 3mm bleed
Exported PDF with bleed and crops
How do I add bleed to my scratch off artwork?
Indesign
Under File > Document set up in the dialog box that says bleed and slug click into the bleed part and add 3mm on each side.
Illustrator
Similar to indesign except File > New will bring up the document dialog box, add 3mm to all sides.
Photoshop
Photoshop does not have a bleed setting so we recommend setting up your document 3mm bigger all around, so if the scratch poster is to be printed A4 (210x297mm) set up as 216 x 303mm.
Illustrator bleed dialog box
Safe Area
As well as a bleed area, we do recommend adding a ‘safe area’ to your custom scratch poster designs. Sometimes, a design looks fantastic on the screen but when printed onto its chosen material it can appear uneven or perhaps cramped.
Because of this, we recommend a margin of at least 5mm for smaller printed posters and 25mm for large scale scratch posters.
If you are unsure about bleed and your artwork or have any questions then call us on 023 8087 8037 or email us.