Most label artwork we send back at pre-press fails for one of two reasons: there is no bleed, or the dieline does not match the shape. Both are cheap to fix before you send the file, and expensive to fix after a 50,000-label run is printed. Here is the two-minute version.
1. What “bleed” is — and the 3 mm rule
Printed labels are cut on a roll or sheet die. No cutting machine holds a perfect edge; on our lines the tolerance is about ±0.5 mm. Bleed is the extra artwork that runs 3 mm (0.125 in in the US) past the trim line on every side. If your background colour or photo stops exactly at the trim line, a half-millimetre shift during cutting leaves a white sliver. Bleed is there to swallow that shift.
2. What a “dieline” is (and why it is not just a rectangle)
The dieline is the cut path — the actual shape the knife follows. For a rectangle it is four straight lines. For a circle, an oval, or a custom die-cut logo shape, it is the vector outline. The dieline is your trim line: everything inside it prints, everything outside is cut away.
We need it as a vector file (AI, PDF, or EPS) at 1:1 scale. A screenshot, or a PNG with a transparent edge, is not a dieline — it cannot tell the cutter where to go. If you order a custom shape, send the cut path; we confirm the die already exists or quote a new one.
3. The safe zone — where your text must live
Inside the trim line, keep another 3 mm clear of anything you cannot afford to lose: text, barcodes, your logo. That 3 mm band is the safe zone. A barcode cut in half, or a word missing its last letter, is almost always because it sat outside the safe zone. For small labels (under 30 mm) we push that to 4–5 mm, because the same half-millimetre shift is a bigger share of a tiny label.
No vector dieline means no cut. If your file only has artwork and no cut path, we either reject it or default to a standard rectangle. Always send the cut path as its own named layer.
4. What breaks when bleed or dielines are wrong
- Round cosmetic labels, 50,000 up. The artwork was fine, but the logo sat 1 mm outside the safe zone. After die-cutting, part of the logo fell off the edge across the whole run. The batch needed a full re-proof.
- A full-bleed background that stopped at the trim line. Cutting left a 1 mm white frame on two sides — it looked like a printing defect, but it was a missing bleed.
- A custom shape sent as a PNG. We could not generate a clean die, so the labels shipped as rectangles.
5. Bleed & dieline specs at a glance
| Setting | Standard | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed | 3 mm (0.125″) all sides | Covers the ±0.5 mm cutting tolerance |
| Safe zone | 3 mm inside trim (4–5 mm if label <30 mm) | Protects text, barcodes, logos from the cut |
| Dieline | Vector AI / PDF / EPS at 1:1 | The cutter needs a path, not a picture |
| Resolution | 300 dpi at final size | Sharp print, no pixelation |
| Colour | CMYK + spot (Pantone / foil) on a separate layer | Holds brand colour accurately |
| Custom die | Send the path; we confirm the die or quote a new one | Avoids shipping the wrong shape |
6. Common questions
Do roll labels and sheet labels need the same bleed?
Yes. Both are cut to a trim line. Roll labels add one more rule: keep a consistent gap between repeats so the die does not hit the previous label. We handle the web layout, but your artwork still needs the 3 mm bleed.
Can a transparent PNG be my dieline?
No. The transparent edge tells us the artwork shape, not a precise cut path. We need a vector outline.
My design is edge-to-edge colour. Do I still need bleed?
Yes — the colour must extend 3 mm beyond the trim on every side. Edge-to-edge just means “full bleed”, which needs more bleed, not less.
How do I add bleed in Illustrator?
File → Document Setup → type 3 mm in the bleed box. Extend backgrounds and images past the trim, keep text inside the safe zone, then File → Export → PDF with “Bleed Marks” turned on. We accept PDF/X-4.