How to ensure a clean label edge
without bleed 
with bleed
Let it bleed
You may have heard the term bleed before. If not, I promise there’s nothing gruesome here!
Bleed just refers to the extra image or background color that extends beyond the trim edge of your label.
If you have a photo or artwork that you want to go all the way to the edge of your label then you actually need to include more of that image or color than will be visible in the final printed piece.
In other words, your art needs to bleed off the edge.
If you want your label to look like this:
Your image needs to bleed like this:
Mind the gap
Your label art will print on an oversized sheet and be trimmed to size. When there is insufficient bleed image, the result is a gap, or white strip between the edge of your art and the edge of your label.
Designer tip
- Add at least 1/16″ or .0625″ bleed all the way around your art.
For example, on a 2″ x 2″ label, your art should measure at least 2.125″ x 2.125″.
DIY tip
- The Personalize tools on our website make it easy for you to see if you’ve got enough bleed. For the tomato image we’re using, all we had to do was scale it up a bit until it filled out the bleed area like you see in the screenshot below.
Related reading
Working with a designer?
- Send them our spec sheet for the smoothest ordering, fastest turnaround and best printed outcomes on your label order.
David is Production Manager and designer at Evermine Labels. Husband, father, musician and letter enthusiast, he can sometimes be found playing guitar with Moon Debris or prowling the typography section of Powell's. Favorite beverage: earl grey. Pictured is his kitty, Chilton.