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Wasn't that a tasty tip in part two? It may have been a little gory (after all we were talking about bleed!) but it was definitely a necessary topic. This topic won't be quite as gory, though we are still talking about guillotine blades. However, there will be no blood this time, as I said in the prior article the mistake that is made third most commonly is quite similar to the second, that is Critical Content is too close to final trim!

In the preceding article, bleed was described as any object which is used as a background cause and circulates right to the boundary of a paper.

Anything that is not classified as a background effect is called 'critical content'. Examples of critical content are the text of the body and its headlines, photographs and caption, and a logo. Keep in mind that critical content and background effects are each other's opposites.

Remember that we discussed the fact that guillotines and book cutters don't generally cut each sheet in precisely the same location? The paper reacts to the pressure that is applied during cutting, and bleed compensates for if the sheet is cut to larger than a normal size.

If you place your 'critical content' too close to your final trim, it is possible that the blade might cut closer than it usually does. If this happens, you might cut into text, logos, and other content that is critical.

Even where it has not been lopped off, if it comes within 1 to 2mm, the unfortunate result will be that it will appear to the eye to have been shaved too closely.

The solution is to place critical content at least 5mm from the final trim. Place graphics and text by using margins as guidelines. This is important for any printed product including magazines, business cards, brochures, and stationary.

If you're making a thicker book, you'll want to increase the distance by the spine to about 15 - 20 mm. You should insure that you have the "facing pages" set correctly so that even numbered pages are on the left (with the spine on the right) and odd numbered pages are on the right (with the spine on the left).

You need to have 5 to 10mm minimum distances away from the edge of the paper for the right (not the spine), top, and bottom. This gives a more standardized appearance.