Comics are printed at 6.625" x 10.25". Size your files accordingly.

But what does that mean?

As much as we like to think that machines do everything perfectly all the time, sometimes they're a little bit off. Sometimes, they cut sheets of paper ever-so-slightly differently. Sometimes, the printing on the front of the page doesn't EXACTLY line up with the back of the sheet. In order to make sure that nothing gets lost, it's typically recommended that all important elements are kept within one-quarter inch or .25" from the edge of the page. In other words, your comic has a "safe area" of 6.375" x 10".

If your comic has traditional white borders and gutters all around the panels, then you're fine! Size your book a 6.625" x 10.25" with gutters of .25", and you're good! But, chances are, you're going to have some of the artwork "bleed" off the edge of the page -- At the very least, this is a common practice for covers. Or if you want to have black borders around the panels. Or if you do that thing where panel goes off the edge of the page.

That's when you need "Bleed." Bleed is, as said before, where part of the artwork (even if it's a solid color) "bleeds" over the edge of the paper. This is accomplished by printing a little bit more, and then trimming off the excess. Most printers recommend adding .125" or 1/8th of an inch to each side of the page to accomodate for bleed. So that means you'll need to set your files up at 6.875" x 10.5", and make sure that nothing important is in that last little bit of any side of the page -- No text, dialogue bubbles, captions, character faces, plot elements, etc.

Final trim size: 6.625" x 10.25"
Safe area: 6.375" x 10"
Bleed Area: 6.875 x 10.5"

That's a lot of very similar numbers!

Also, just to be even more confusing, some printers or publishers may use SLIGHTLY differnet sizes, so be sure to ask and adjust your numbers accordingly!

However, you can apply these same tips to ANYTHING you get printed -- 11x17" prints, or trading cards, or comic-sized prints, or whatever!

Want to print an 11x17" print with bleed? Set up your file at 11.25" x 17.25"

Want to print trading cards with bleed? The finished size of a trading card is 2.5" x 3.5", so set up your files at 2.75" x 3.75"!

Comic-sized prints with bleed? They're the same size as comic books! 6.875 x 10.5"