How do I set up margins for an 8 x 10" document with full bleed?

[fmy]

I've been trying to do the math on this, and my brain fails me. I cannot figure out what the measurements need to be for the margins on this project.



I was told by the printer that the measurements should be:

Width - 8.125"
Height - 10.25"

I am working from the traditional 8.5 x 11" template in Word. After several time-consuming attempts, which include re-doing the layout for this 140-page document, it keeps getting rejected by the printer due to margin issues.

I'm utterly at sea. Can anyone provide an answer? I thank you for reading this.

Frank

[JimP]

The default margins are set at 1" on all sides for the standard 8 1/2" X 11" size. You can alter the margins via the Page Layout ribbon / Margins section (far left-hand side of the Page Layout ribbon). Most printers will not allow margins set below 0.25" (approximately) on either side.

If this does not answer your query, what message(s) are you getting hung up on? Are your margins set to the correct default printer?

[fmy]

Him JimP,

Thank you for responding. I'm hung up trying to do the math on how much margin I should leave on all four sides. I've tried over and over, and I can't get it right.

There are no internet resources for this issue (that I've yet found). I don't want to repaginate and re-lay out this long document over and over due to my lack of understanding of how the margins should be set.

MS has nothing to offer on this subject; believe me, I've looked.

Thanks,
Frank

[JimP]

Originally Posted by fmy

I'm hung up trying to do the math on how much margin I should leave on all four sides. I've tried over and over, and I can't get it right.

You should not have to do any math "at all" to set your margins. Your printer does not tell you what your margins should be...you establish your margins for your document how you want it to appear. If your printer rejects your margins, you probably have them set too small anyway. Generally speaking, most printers will accept any margins of 0.5" and above on all sides.

And, yes, there are multiple resources out there for help regarding Word. For instance: http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide...m#Page%20Setup will help with setting up your margins (if you have not already seen this). Of course, there are other links such as Basic concepts of Microsoft Word: An introduction | ShaunaKelly.com (pay attention to the links on the left-hand side of the page.

[Charles Kenyon]

Originally Posted by fmy

I've been trying to do the math on this, and my brain fails me. I cannot figure out what the measurements need to be for the margins on this project.

I was told by the printer that the measurements should be:

Width - 8.125"
Height - 10.25"

I am working from the traditional 8.5 x 11" template in Word. After several time-consuming attempts, which include re-doing the layout for this 140-page document, it keeps getting rejected by the printer due to margin issues.

I'm utterly at sea. Can anyone provide an answer? I thank you for reading this.

Frank

By "printer" do you mean your machine or do you mean the person you are going to to get this printed?

Some thoughts, if it is a person who wants something to print from:

OK. The printed size will be 8x10, right?
The printer wants some overlap, right?

Set your top margin for .25 and your bottom margin for .5. That should give you 10.25 of print height in Word.
Set your left margin for .2 and your right margin for .175. That should give you 8.125 width of print area.

[fmy]

This is for a book I'm publishing on CreateSpace. Their support was baffled by my question. This is what they told me:

The interior doesn't have sufficient outside margins for printing, which could result in content being trimmed when printed. The outside, top, and bottom margin requirements are 0.25" for non-bleed interiors or 0.375" for bleed interiors.

THIS is what has me buffaloed. By their standards, that .5" margin would be verboten. They're difficult to deal with, I'll say that...

[Charles Kenyon]

Keep in mind that margins are a section, not a document, setting.
A single page can have multiple sections.
If your document is properly set up, it will repaginate if you change the margins.

Sections / Headers and Footers in Microsoft Word 2007-2016

[Charles Kenyon]

Are you printing to .pdf?

[fmy]

Yes. That's what I will turn over to CreateSpace, once I get this issue resolved.

[Charles Kenyon]

With Adobe's pdf printer driver I had no trouble setting the margins as specified in my earlier post. Remember that you will want to set your left and right indents inside those margins so your text will actually fit on the 8x10 page, hopefully with some visual margins there.

[shg]

Maybe I'm missing the obvious, but why not set the paper size in Word and Acrobat to 8 x 10, and the margins as you wish or as you are directed, all the way down to zero if you like? Your printer (the machine) wouldn't like that, but Acrobat is oblivious.

[Charles Kenyon]

Originally Posted by shg

Maybe I'm missing the obvious, but why not set the paper size in Word and Acrobat to 8 x 10, and the margins as you wish or as you are directed, all the way down to zero if you like? Your printer (the machine) wouldn't like that, but Acrobat is oblivious.

Because CreateSpace wants more to actually be able to print an 8x10 full-bleed.

[shg]

Then you could set Word to 8 x 10 with no margins, Acrobat to whatever size CreateSpace wants, and print 1:1 centered - no?

[Charles Kenyon]

Not having ever worked with Createspace, I don't know.

[shg]

Did you read the PDF Submission Spec at https://s3.amazonaws.com/csp-wg-addi...rTOIV7mE8fo%3D

For books with bleed:

If you want your images to bleed to the edges of your book, ensure that they extend at least 0.125" beyond the final trim size from the top, bottom, and outer edges and submit your PDF 0.25" higher and 0.125" wider than your selected trim size to accommodate the full bleed area.

• For example, if your selected trim size is 8.5" x 11", you will set the page size to 8.625" wide by 11.25" high.
Keep in mind all live elements must be at least 0.25" away from the trim lines, so if your file is formatted to be full bleed all live elements should be 0.375" a way from the edge of the page.

The book will be cut to your final Trim Size, but the bleed ensures your images will still extend to the edges of the page.