The numbers
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Bleed on the top, bottom and outside edges | 0.125 in (3.2 mm) |
| Bleed on the inside (binding) edge | None |
| Interior page size with bleed | trim width + 0.125 in × trim height + 0.25 in |
| Minimum outside, top and bottom margin | 0.375 in from the trim with bleed (0.25 in without) |
| File type for an interior with bleed | PDF only |
| Paperback cover | 0.125 in bleed on every outside edge of the full-wrap cover |
| Hardcover cover | no bleed: a 15 mm wrap that folds around the boards |
Why KDP asks for bleed
Pages are printed on larger sheets and cut to the trim size, and the cut can drift slightly from sheet to sheet. Art that stops exactly at the trim line can end up with a thin white sliver along the edge. Extending backgrounds and full-page images 0.125 in past the trim hides that variation: the extra strip is cut off and the color runs cleanly to the edge.
The inside edge gets no bleed because it is glued into the spine. That is why a bleed page is only 0.125 in wider than the trim (bleed on the outside edge) but 0.25 in taller (bleed at the top and at the bottom).
Which books need bleed
Books with white margins all around, such as novels, most non-fiction and puzzle books, don't need bleed. Picture books, comics, photo books and coloring books whose designs touch the edge do. The choice applies to the whole interior: KDP asks you to set up the entire file with bleed even if only one page needs it, and an interior with bleed must be uploaded as a PDF.
Bleed also moves the safe margins. Text, page numbers and anything that must not be cut need at least 0.375 in from the outside, top and bottom trim edges, instead of 0.25 in without bleed. The live area page has the full rule.
Example: an 8.5 × 11 in coloring book
A coloring book with full-page designs on 8.5 × 11 in pages needs an interior PDF of 8.625 × 11.25 in: 8.5 + 0.125 in wide and 11 + 0.25 in tall. At 300 DPI, an image that fills the page including the bleed is 2,588 × 3,375 pixels.
The lines of each design can run into the bleed, but a page title, a page number or a "colored by" line should sit at least 0.375 in inside the trim, which is 0.5 in from the edge of the PDF page.
Common mistakes
- Adding bleed on all four sides. KDP interior pages bleed on three edges only, so the page is 0.125 in wider than the trim, not 0.25 in.
- Setting up only the pages that bleed. Every page of the PDF must have the same, bleed-sized page.
- Stretching art to the trim line instead of the bleed edge, which leaves white slivers after cutting.
- Keeping text 0.25 in from the edge in a book with bleed. With bleed the minimum is 0.375 in from the trim.
- Exporting with crop marks or printer's marks to show where the bleed is. KDP asks for files without crop marks, trim marks or printer's marks.
- Uploading a Word file for a book with bleed. KDP requires a PDF when images or elements bleed to the edges of the page.
In kdpbook: kdpbook applies KDP's trim, bleed and margin rules by code when it builds the interior PDF.