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Page layout programs, such as InDesign, and
illustration programs, like Illustrator, can easily handle
"bleeds" and can automatically place crop marks. In Photoshop,
you can use Print with Preview's crop marks and bleed options,
or you can create the crop marks manually.
Crop marks indicate where a page will be
cut (or trimmed) after printing. When artwork is supposed to
extend all the way to the edge of the printed page after
cropping, it's common to use a "bleed." By extending the ink
past the crop mark, you ensure that minor errors in registration
or trimming don't produce an unsightly white line along the edge
of the artwork. Consider, if you will, the difference between
these two advertising cards. The lower example has an error in
either registration or trim, leaving a white area along the
right edge.
Creating a bleed requires some advance planning. To produce the
4-inch by 6-inch advertising cards shown above requires a canvas
slightly larger than 4-x-6 to accommodate the bleed area. Your
print shop can tell you the bleed size required. Photoshop's
Print with Preview permits bleeds to 0.125" but you can produce
larger bleeds manually. For a 0.125" bleed all around the
artwork, you'll need to work with a canvas size one-quarter inch
wider and taller that the artwork itself. In this case, the
4-x-6 cards will be produced on a 4.25-x-6.25 canvas. Use Guides
to indicate the actual artwork area while working.
TIP: Photoshop's menu command View> New Guide enables you to
place guides numerically, ensuring precision.
When ready to output, use
Photoshop's File> Print with Preview command. In the Print with
Preview dialog box, check the box "Show More Options." In the
Output area, check the "Corner Crop Marks" box, then click the
Bleed button. You can specify a bleed from 0.0 to 0.125 inches.
When the page is printed, the crop marks will be moved inward
the specified distance.
But what if your printer requires a bleed
larger than 0.125"? You can create the crop marks manually. Zoom
way in, make a rectangular selection based on the guides, then
use the menu command Edit> Stroke. (In this example, the Pencil
tool was used with a one-pixel brush and the Centered option was
selected in the Stroke dialog box.) The innermost horizontal and
vertical lines can be used as the crop marks.
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