How to Add Print Margins in Illustrator

Ensure that your entire artwork is printed by adding margin guides.

Because Illustrator is not a print layout program similar to InDesign, Illustrator does not include standard margin guides. However, occasionally you will want to print directly from Illustrator. Your printer still has a margin and does not print to the edge of the paper, so if you design you illustration to the edge of the document, part of your image will be cut off when it's printed. You can create guides that add these print margins to your document so that you can design your artwork without worrying about what is going to print.

Instructions

Page Tiling

1. Click "View."

2. Select "Show Print Tiling." A dotted line appears around the artboard, which is your print margin.

3. Design your artwork inside the dotted line to ensure that it will print.

Print Guides

1. Determine what your printer's margin is.

2. Click "View" and hover over "Rulers." Select "Show Rulers."

3. Select the "Rectangle tool. Draw a box starting at the top-left corner where your printer margin begins and ending in the bottom-right corner where your printer margin ends.

4. Click "View" and hover over "Guides." Select "Make Guides."

References

• Adobe CS5 Help: Artboard Overview