bleed

Definition:
A printing operation which results in the printed matter running off the cut edge of a newspaper or magazine page, so that there is no white margin around it. Full-page and double-page colour advertisements in the Sunday colour magazines usually 'bleed off the page' (or are 'bled to the margin'), while those in the Radio Times or TV Times more often do not. To ensure there is no accidental small white margin at any edge if the paper is not trimmed perfectly, the actual print area has to be significantly larger than the page dimensions. There is normally a surcharge for bleed, expressed as a percentage to be added to the RATE CARD charge for the space; it will be included in the details provided by BRAD (q.v.). The picturesque phrase 'bleeding into the gutter'' describes the requirement for an illustration spread across two facing pages to be continuous across the dividing 'gutter', without any visible interruption.

Cross-References:
[British Rate & Data (Brad)] [rate card]

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