What is bleed?
You might have heard the term “bleed” before. We’re not talking about the blood of your main character’s enemies (this time). The bleed is the area of your book cover that will be trimmed off by the printer.
Why is it important to include a bleed?
When your book is printed, the bleed area of the cover is trimmed off. It’s important to check your book cover design for proper bleed before uploading it to KDP because if there isn’t enough bleed, then your cover will be stretched to fill the extra space and the edge of your design will get cut off when printed.
In addition, small misalignments in the printing equipment can make the actual trim area vary a bit, so it is important to have extra background on the sides so you don’t get any white lines!
What goes in the bleed?
Nothing important should be in the bleed area, simply extend the background picture or color of your cover.
How much bleed should there be?
KDP’s bleed is 0.125 inches (3.175 mm) on each side (top, bottom, left, and right) – that means your file should be the size of the cover PLUS the bleed. Bleed is always additional space.
Other printers may have different bleed requirements – make sure you get the printing specifications from any company you are working with.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this post has helped you understand what bleed is and why it’s important. If you have any questions about bleeds or anything else related to book cover design, please feel free to reach out!