How to Add Bleed Marks to Inkscape

By Laurel Storm

Updated September 28, 2017

When designing a document in Inkscape, you may want your design to run right up to the edge of the printed page. However, if you simply set up the document as you normally would, there is a chance that inexact cropping will result in a space between the end of the artwork and the edge of the page, ruining the effect you intended. To avoid this, extend the design beyond the edges of your document and set up crop and bleed marks.

Launch Inkscape and open your document.

Click the "Extensions" menu, hover over "Render" and select the "Printing Marks..." option to open the Printing Marks window.

Ensure the check boxes labeled "Crop Marks" and "Bleed Marks" are checked.

Click the "Positioning" tab and adjust the offset for the crop marks and the width of the bleed margins as desired.

Click "Apply." You may have to wait a few moments as Inkscape calculates the position of the marks and applies them to your document.

Tips

Crop marks identify exactly where the page should be trimmed, while bleed marks identify how far the artwork stretches outside of the edges. You can set crop marks either to the edges of your canvas, or the edges of a selected object.

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