Safety margin: where not to place text

Print preparation7 min read · Updated: 03.11.2026

Lettering sliced through the middle, a phone number cut off a business card or a roll-up slogan hidden in the cassette are mistakes you can't fix once the job is printed. They almost always have the same cause: the text sits too close to the edge. This guide explains how the trim line differs from the bleed and the safe zone. It also gives concrete values in millimetres and centimetres for a range of products, from business cards to fence banners.

Trim line, bleed and safe zone: what's what?

Every print file has three important boundaries. The trim line marks the trim size, i.e. the finished dimensions of the product, for example 85×55 mm for a UK business card. The bleed is the background extended beyond the trim line, usually by 3 mm on each side, which will be cut off. The safe zone is the area inside the format, set in from the trim line by the safety margin. That's the only place for text and other important elements.

Bleed and margin work together. The bleed prevents a thin white sliver at the edge if the cut drifts outwards. The margin prevents content from being cut off if the cut drifts inwards.

Why doesn't the guillotine cut perfectly?

A print house doesn't cut each item individually. Many copies are imposed on one sheet, and the guillotine cuts the whole stack at once. Sheets in the stack shift slightly, and the print can be fractionally out of register with the sheet. In practice, a tolerance of around 0.5–1 mm in either direction is assumed. A plotter contour-cutting stickers has a similar spread.

That's why a thin border 2 mm from the edge is a bad idea. On some copies it will come out 1 mm wide, on others 3 mm, and the unevenness is immediately obvious. If you want a border, set it at least 5–6 mm from the edge, or run the background into the bleed without a border.

How many mm of safety margin for different products?

Values differ for two reasons: the size of the product and how it's finished. The larger the format, the further from the edge the eye looks, and the more finishing involved (creasing, eyeleting, mounting), the larger the margin. The values below are the safe minimum used by print houses. If your printer specifies its own requirements, those take priority.

Roll-ups: the bottom disappears into the cassette

A roll-up has a trap you won't find in ordinary print. The bottom edge of the graphic is stuck to the roller inside the cassette, and when the stand is extended part of it stays inside or is hidden by the housing. Depending on the model, that's about 10–15 cm. At the top, the graphic is held by a clamp rail, which takes another few centimetres.

Then there's ergonomics. The bottom of a roll-up is at knee height and nobody reads it, so even text just above the cassette achieves little. Put the logo and slogan in the top half, and the key information roughly 100–190 cm above the floor.

• Bottom 10–15 cm: background only – no lettering, website address or QR code.
• Top 3–5 cm: no text or logo, as the rail may cover them.
• Sides: 2–3 cm from the edge, because the material can curl slightly or be trimmed unevenly.
• Place the QR code and website address no lower than about 80–100 cm so people can scan them without crouching.

Eyeletted banners: where does the safe area end?

A fence or scaffold banner is finished with a welded or folded hem, into which metal eyelets are fitted, usually every 50 cm or so. An eyelet is a dozen or so millimetres across and sits a few centimetres from the edge, while the hem usually takes up 2–4 cm. A letter under an eyelet will be punched through, and a letter on the hem will be puckered.

Keep text at least 5 cm from every edge, and preferably 5–10 cm on 300×100 and 500×100 cm banners. A banner like this is read from several metres away or more, so a wider margin simply looks better. If the banner is cable-tied to mesh fencing, bear in mind that the material may ripple at the fixing points.

Folded flyers, stickers and signs: what else to remember?

The margin doesn't only apply to the outer edges. On a folded flyer, the crease line acts as an additional edge. Keep text 3–5 mm from the fold, and make the inside panel (on a DL tri-fold) 2–3 mm narrower so it doesn't buckle when folded.

For stickers and labels contour-cut to shape, what matters is the die line, not the rectangle of the file. On circles and ovals, text running along a curve easily 'drifts' towards the edge, so check it at the narrowest point. On signs and panels, the margin is defined by screw holes, stand-offs and the frame. Keep content 3–5 cm away from corners and edges hidden by fixings.

How do you set up a safety margin in your file?

In layout software (InDesign, Illustrator, Affinity), set the trim size, a 3 mm bleed and margin guides, for example 5 mm inwards. In online editors, switch on the option to show bleed and margins before exporting. Save your print PDF with bleed and, if the printer asks for them, with crop marks as well.

Print houses often accept large formats at 1:10 scale. A 85×200 cm roll-up then measures 85×200 mm in the file, and a 10 cm margin becomes 1 cm in the file. Resolution scales too: 100–150 DPI at actual size means 1000–1500 DPI in a 1:10 file. This is how plakaty.shop (wielkareklama.eu studio), among others, prepares files. Small formats are supplied as a PDF at trim size with 3 mm bleed and a safety margin, while roll-ups and banners are supplied at 1:10 scale.

• Set the trim size, not the bleed size.
• Add a 3 mm bleed and extend the background into it.
• Mark the margin guides according to the table above.
• Check a preview with trimmed edges before sending.