bleed settings 1

[yamy]

Please offer me a clear and simple explanation of how to get an image to print all the way to the edge of the paper on a desktop inkjet or laser printer.

I've not succeeded with any combination of margins, bleeds or image placement inside of InDesign thru to the pdf export. (

http://www.adhesive101.com/bleed_test.pdf).

I think, now, that the bleed settings only work in a press environment that expects to cut the page to size.

So this must be a printer setting and off I go to Google - to learn that printers have limitations in this regard and, without digging out the specific manual, I will assume my $100 printer is probably not up to task, and may never be.

That's the story and now my question is:

must i accept margins on documents printed on desktop printers?
if no, then what is the expected price range of printer that could do that?
or - is that why we'll always have print shops?

Thanks for your consideration - all ideas welcome!

Regards,
yamy

 

[makudo]

It sounds to me like the problem is your printer and there is nothing that In Design can do. Perhaps this is not the correct forum for this type of post? If you are looking at the expected price range of printers, I am sure that doing some shopping around and asking some specialists would not be a bad idea.

 

[senjinpojskic]

Sometimes we have requirement to produce pages without white color at the edges. If there is no set page size you can simply cut outer borders and have image covering "whole" page. Another technique works if A4 size is mandatory. Just use A3 printer (and paper) and compensate for dimensions of margins and of course cut it down to A4.

 

[yamy]

thanks for confirming that the printer is the problem, not the software.

we'll adjust our designs accordingly.

 

[Eggles]

yamy

I work as an inhouse GD and on the form they must fill in when they request a job is the question (among others) - how many copies? If it is under 500, then the form explains that there will be a minimum of a 10mm margin on all sides on their printed piece. Inhouse printing is done on a Canon CLC 1100 (over $25K worth of laser printer) and even it has a non-printing margin on one edge of 9mm (others are less than 5mm). So I design accordingly. Of course, I don't tell them that they *could* have their A4 page printed right to the edge if it was printed on A3 paper and someone (but NOT ME) was prepared to trim them all down to size.

Over 500 copies are too expensive to print inhouse and are sent out to printshops, for which the originator can have bleed on as many sides as they want (I allow 3mm all sides). The prinshop has a big guillotine which can cut 100s of sheets of paper extremely accurately. Because even presses have to have enough room to 'grip' the paper as it passes through, and the excess must be trimmed off.