Print Margin Calculator
Work out the safe printable area of a sheet after the printer margins, and the bleed and safe zone for a full bleed design.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Sheet size, Custom sheet width, Custom sheet height, Printer margin, top, Printer margin, bottom, Printer margin, sides, Bleed, Safe inset from the trim, Finished width after trimming, Finished height after trimming
- What you get
- Printable width, Printable height, Printable area, Share of the sheet you can print on, Artwork width with bleed, Artwork height with bleed, Artwork width with bleed, Artwork height with bleed, Safe width for text, Safe height for text, Safe area, Full bleed is possible on this setup, Sheet area lost at the trim, Smallest margin in play
- Formula shown
- Yes, every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Print Margin Calculator
- 1 Enter Sheet size, Custom uses the width and height below.
- 2 Enter Custom sheet width (mm), Only used when the sheet size above is set to Custom.
- 3 Enter Custom sheet height (mm), Only used when the sheet size above is set to Custom.
- 4 Enter Printer margin, top (mm), Usually the smallest of the margins. Five millimetres is typical on a desktop printer.
- 5 Enter Printer margin, bottom (mm), Often the largest margin, because the rollers grip the trailing edge. Check the manual.
- 6 Enter Printer margin, sides (mm), Usually the same on both sides.
- 7 Enter Bleed (mm), Three millimetres is the printing trade standard. Only relevant for a full bleed design.
- 8 Enter Safe inset from the trim (mm), Keep text and logos at least this far inside the finished edge.
- 9 Enter Finished width after trimming (mm), The card size you will end up with. Set it equal to the sheet width if the sheet is not trimmed.
- 10 Enter Finished height after trimming (mm)
- 11 Press Calculate. You get Printable width, Printable height, Printable area, Share of the sheet you can print on, Artwork width with bleed, Artwork height with bleed, Artwork width with bleed, Artwork height with bleed, Safe width for text, Safe height for text, Safe area, Full bleed is possible on this setup, Sheet area lost at the trim, Smallest margin in play, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 12 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
An A4 sheet on a desktop printer
A4 card printed with a five millimetre top and side margin and ten millimetres at the bottom.
You enter
- Sheet size
- 1
- Custom sheet width
- 0 mm
- Custom sheet height
- 0 mm
- Printer margin, top
- 5 mm
- Printer margin, bottom
- 10 mm
- Printer margin, sides
- 5 mm
- Bleed
- 3 mm
- Safe inset from the trim
- 3 mm
- Finished width after trimming
- 105 mm
- Finished height after trimming
- 148 mm
You get
- Printable width
- 200.00 mm
- Printable height
- 282.00 mm
- Printable area
- 56,400.00 sq mm
- Share of the sheet you can print on
- 90.4%
- Artwork width with bleed
- 111.00 mm
- Artwork height with bleed
- 154.00 mm
- Artwork width with bleed
- 4.37 in
- Artwork height with bleed
- 6.06 in
- Safe width for text
- 99.00 mm
- Safe height for text
- 142.00 mm
- Safe area
- 14,058.00 sq mm
- Full bleed is possible on this setup
- 1
- Sheet area lost at the trim
- 75.1%
- Smallest margin in play
- 5.00 mm
A printable area of 200 by 282 millimetres, which is 90 percent of the sheet. The A6 artwork with bleed is 111 by 154 millimetres and fits comfortably.
A full bleed photo card
A 5 by 7 inch card with a photograph running to all four edges.
You enter
- Sheet size
- 4
- Custom sheet width
- 0 mm
- Custom sheet height
- 0 mm
- Printer margin, top
- 5 mm
- Printer margin, bottom
- 12 mm
- Printer margin, sides
- 5 mm
- Bleed
- 3 mm
- Safe inset from the trim
- 5 mm
- Finished width after trimming
- 127 mm
- Finished height after trimming
- 178 mm
You get
- Printable width
- 206.00 mm
- Printable height
- 262.00 mm
- Printable area
- 53,972.00 sq mm
- Share of the sheet you can print on
- 89.6%
- Artwork width with bleed
- 133.00 mm
- Artwork height with bleed
- 184.00 mm
- Artwork width with bleed
- 5.24 in
- Artwork height with bleed
- 7.24 in
- Safe width for text
- 117.00 mm
- Safe height for text
- 168.00 mm
- Safe area
- 19,656.00 sq mm
- Full bleed is possible on this setup
- 1
- Sheet area lost at the trim
- 62.5%
- Smallest margin in play
- 5.00 mm
Artwork of 133 by 184 millimetres against a printable height of 267 millimetres, so the bleed fits on US Letter and the job can be done at home.
A tight margin printer
The same A4 sheet on a printer with a fifteen millimetre bottom margin and a 5 millimetre bleed.
You enter
- Sheet size
- 1
- Custom sheet width
- 0 mm
- Custom sheet height
- 0 mm
- Printer margin, top
- 5 mm
- Printer margin, bottom
- 15 mm
- Printer margin, sides
- 5 mm
- Bleed
- 5 mm
- Safe inset from the trim
- 3 mm
- Finished width after trimming
- 210 mm
- Finished height after trimming
- 297 mm
You get
- Printable width
- 200.00 mm
- Printable height
- 277.00 mm
- Printable area
- 55,400.00 sq mm
- Share of the sheet you can print on
- 88.8%
- Artwork width with bleed
- 220.00 mm
- Artwork height with bleed
- 307.00 mm
- Artwork width with bleed
- 8.66 in
- Artwork height with bleed
- 12.09 in
- Safe width for text
- 204.00 mm
- Safe height for text
- 291.00 mm
- Safe area
- 59,364.00 sq mm
- Full bleed is possible on this setup
- 0
- Sheet area lost at the trim
- 0.0%
- Smallest margin in play
- 5.00 mm
When the finished size equals the sheet, no bleed can fit, and the tool reports that a full bleed is not possible on this setup.
Guides that go with it
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