Create a bleed for use on a desktop printer

To create a bleed effect on your desktop printer, you need to set up your publication to print on a sheet of paper that's larger than the finished publication page. For example, if your publication page is a standard letter size, you would print it on sheets of Legal or Letter Extra paper. The print size you select will depend on the paper sizes your printer accommodates.

  1. Set up the page size (1 below) and the printer paper (also called the sheet) size.

    How?

    1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
    2. In the Page Layout dialog box, under Publication type, select the layout you want.

      Your selection represents the page size, not the printer sheet size.

      If you need to change the page measurements, enter your changes in the Width and Height boxes.

    3. Click the Printer & Paper tab.
    4. In the Size box, click the printer paper size you will use for printing.

      Make sure you select a sheet size that is larger than your publication page size.

    2.  
  2. Position the bleed so that it extends beyond the edges of the page (2 above).

    You can create a bleed with text, pictures, or any other type of object.

  3. After printing, trim the paper to the size of the publication by using the crop marks as your guides.