bleedgen
Canva, Figma, Photoshop — tools with no bleed model
Guides are placed in a PDF optional-content layer flagged not to print, so they stay visible on screen but are omitted when the file is printed.
- Bleed3.75 × 2.25 in
- Trim3.5 × 2 in
- Safe area3.25 × 1.75 in
| Box | in | pt |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed box (make artwork this big) | 3.75 × 2.25 in | 270 × 162 pt |
| Trim (final cut size) | 3.5 × 2 in | 252 × 144 pt |
| Safe area (keep text inside) | 3.25 × 1.75 in | 234 × 126 pt |
| PDF page (MediaBox) | 4 × 2.5 in | 288 × 180 pt |
- Trim
3.5 × 2 in- Bleed box
3.5 + 2 × 0.125 = 3.75 in wide, 2 + 2 × 0.125 = 2.25 in tallBleed is added here, and only here. Setting your document page size to the bleed box (3.75 × 2.25 in) and then adding bleed again in your design software double-counts it, leaving a white gap at the crop marks.
- Safe area
3.5 - 2 × 0.125 = 3.25 in wide, 2 - 2 × 0.125 = 1.75 in tall- Marks
0.125 in long, offset 0.125 in from the trim edge- Page
3.5 + 2 × 0.25 = 4 in wide, 2 + 2 × 0.25 = 2.5 in tallThe page (4 × 2.5 in) is larger than the bleed box (3.75 × 2.25 in) so it has room for the crop and registration marks; the artwork itself does not need to fill the page.
Watch for double-counting bleed. Bleed is added once, to your trim size. A 3.5 × 2 in card with 0.125 in bleed produces artwork sized 3.75 × 2.25 in, but the trim — the size that gets cut — stays 3.5 × 2 in.
If you instead set the document size to 3.75 × 2.25 in and turn bleed on again, this tool adds another 0.125 in on top of a canvas that is already bleed-sized. The crop marks land 0.125 in too far out, and the trimmed piece shows a white gap instead of full-bleed colour.
The generated PDF is a correctly sized blank canvas: a page with MediaBox, TrimBox, and BleedBox set to the dimensions you specify, plus crop marks showing where to cut. It does not contain any artwork.
Colour in the PDF is plain RGB or grayscale and is not colour-managed.
Confirm the bleed value with your printer before sending final artwork.