Document Printing / 5 min
Can You Print to the Edge of the Paper?
Understand why most printers leave borders, when edge-to-edge output needs trimming, and what to check before ordering borderless-looking prints.
Published / Updated
By BizBee. Factual review: BizBee operations.
Short answer
You can create a finished piece that appears to print to the edge, but it usually requires bleed and trimming rather than simply printing on a standard sheet. Many printers cannot place toner or ink all the way to the physical edge of a sheet without a border. Before ordering, decide whether a small white border is acceptable or whether the finished size must look borderless after trimming.
Why do white borders appear?
Many printing devices need a non-printable margin near the paper edge.
A standard document printed at actual size may therefore show white around the outside.
How do edge-to-edge designs work?
The design is printed with extra background beyond the final size and then trimmed down.
This is why bleed matters for flyers, cards and covers with full-colour backgrounds. The normal document builder is not a promise that bleed, trimming or borderless finishing is included automatically.
When is a border acceptable?
For internal reports, worksheets and reading copies, a white border is usually fine.
For marketing pieces, invitations or branded cards, the border may look unfinished.
What should you say in the order?
State whether you need edge-to-edge finished output or whether normal margins are acceptable. Use the document builder only when a normal printed sheet with possible printer margins is acceptable.
If the final size matters, confirm trim size rather than relying only on the PDF page size. Bleed, crop marks, trimming, custom stock or exact borderless marketing pieces should go through a scoped enquiry with size, stock, quantity, proof and deadline details.
Borderless-looking print checklist
- - Check whether a white border is acceptable.
- - Add bleed if artwork reaches the edge.
- - Keep important text away from the cut edge.
- - Confirm final trim size.
- - Route bleed or trimming requirements to an enquiry before relying on /print.
Next step
Send final size, bleed/crop-mark setup, paper stock, quantity and deadline before assuming borderless-looking output is supported in the standard builder.
Ask about bleed and trimming