Bleed is the extra printed area that extends beyond the final cut line of a printed piece. It ensures that background colors, images, or patterns reach the edge after trimming, preventing unwanted white borders caused by minor cutting variations.
Bleed is included in print files during layout and prepress, along with crop marks that show where the final trim will happen. Using the correct bleed area is especially important for packaging, labels, and display graphics where edge-to-edge color and clean finishes are expected.