Using a Bleed When Printing ID Cards

If printing an ID card with an image or background color that goes all the way to the edge of your ID card, you will need to use a Bleed.

When a Bleed is enabled the size of your card increases by a small amount, and when the card is printed a small amount of the card image is printed over the edge of the card in order to give you a full edge-to-edge background image/color.

Enabling the Bleed in ID Maker

Toggle the Bleed option in ID Maker as shown above.

Preventing Ink Smudges on Inkjet PVC Cards

If you're printing on Inkjet PVC Cards, then after printing, turn your tray upside down to remove the cards onto your desk, then wipe the tray with a paper towel/cloth to get excess ink off the tray. Doing this will avoid getting ink smudges on your hands and cards.

If You're Already Seeing Marks on Your Cards

If you notice ink marks on cards you've already printed, the ink has likely transferred to the rollers inside the printer. To clear it out:

1. Load some plain paper into the printer
2. Print a few blank pages (or pages with very little ink coverage)
3. Repeat a few times — you can reuse the same sheets of paper

This will pick up the excess ink from the rollers and prevent it from transferring to future cards.

Artwork Import Size

We use a total bleed size of 0.075 inches (1.9mm) — this works out to 0.0375 inches (0.9525mm) beyond each edge of the card. This means that if you are designing artwork in a separate application and then importing it, you want to use a total artwork size of 3.45 x 2.20 inches (87.63 x 55.88mm).