MONDAY RANT #2 - MAGAZINE ADS WITH NO BLEEDS
If you have a choice between publishing a full-page ad with or without bleeds, you choose with bleeds. It usually doesn’t cost anything extra. It isn’t difficult or time-consuming either to add. And it doesn’t take anything away from the ad’s concept either.
You’re basically saying to the viewer, “I’m lost and I don’t know what I’m doing.” If you are going to spend all the money for a full-page ad, plus the cost of 4 colour process, plus the cost of 1 spot colour (probably), then at least finish the race strong with a bleed.
It’s like when I go down to my local deli and order a sandwich and they ask me if I want it with or without cheese. You’re damn right I want it with cheese. (’La Charcuterie’ at Kingsway and Boundary for those of you in Vancouver. Best capicolli in town). But I digress.
So here’s the rule of thumb for everybody out there: when you buy a full-page ad in a magazine, get it with bleed; and when you buy a sandwich at a deli, get it with cheese.
That is all.
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October 30th, 2005 at 9:14 pm
Hahaha, loved it!
You should for sure do more rants, this one was quite funny but also very true.
I mean the only reason why an ad shouldn’t have bleed is if the ad incorporates whitespace… but even at that it’s a visual thing, it’s as if you are bleeding off with the white. The thing that bothers me about non-bleed Ads is that it seems enclosed, you see the box and the view has no where else to go. I find that it hinders the viewers response of using their creative minds.
October 30th, 2005 at 9:32 pm
I see no good reason to go with one over the other. In my mind its purely a matter of personal taste and choice. I like it but have no problem designing or viewing either way.
October 30th, 2005 at 10:26 pm
Good point. Unless they’re trying to make an ad for a picture frame, they should do it with bleed.
Nice weblog you have here. Keep up the good work!
((By the way, you forgot to rename your tags for this post.))
October 30th, 2005 at 10:32 pm
I think fullpage ads that don’t bleed generally look amateurish. But, while there’s certainly no reason they _should_ cost more, a few trade magazines I do ads for do indeed charge more for bleeds.
Jonathan
October 30th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
Yes many magazines STILL charge extra for full bleed. They also charge two and three color rates, despite being four color process throughout.
Magazines should simplify their rate cards and stop charging extras where none exist.
October 31st, 2005 at 1:41 am
i think when done right a no bleed ad gets your attention and directs the ad to the product or message. but when done wrong, i agree it looks amature and sloppy or miss scaled.
some people are can’t handle the lactose
some have the four cheese medley with ham!
October 31st, 2005 at 2:41 am
i dont know how it is abroad but in Kuwait most clients choose bleeding. actually the magazine chooses for you (they just provide you with bleed size). Personally i would rather go without bleeding since I like the white frame, it creates some breathing space around my ad. Same way when I develop my 35mm film, i always tell the photoguy to leave a white frame around my picture.
October 31st, 2005 at 1:48 pm
ah rants
im not sure that your rule of thumb holds water here kenny
what if you are lactoase intolerant and just hade lactaid
lol
what i mean is that the no bleed choice is hardly ever a choice
it is governed by magazine ad rates, budgets and often concept as well
it could be said that if you are the only ad in the magazine with no bleed you could capture more attention or stand out more or the other way arround
ill just say that being appropriate matters so if you do have a choice to bleed or not make it count for the concept not because you like full bleed ads
October 31st, 2005 at 2:38 pm
dragan, i disagree.
the bleed/no bleed is almost always your choice in major magazines (for a full-page ad). and it normally doesn’t cost any extra. and if it does, it’s a small percentage of the total cost.
and why not pay for the bleed? in most cases for a 4 colour ad + 1 spot colour + the full page + position = $5,000 - $15,000. why not pay the extra 0.01% for a bleed?
and how will a no bleed ad stand out more? the entire publication is no bleed. so by default it’s the pages with bleeds that stand out. plus how would you know if yours was the only ad without a bleed? you wouldn’t until the magazine was already published, and by then it would be too late.
and i have never seen a full-page magazine ad where the concept is dependent on a no bleed situation.
but yeah, i can see your point about every rule having it’s limitations — especially the one about the cheese. but i still stand by my statement that if you have a choice between bleed or no bleed, to choose bleed.
October 31st, 2005 at 3:08 pm
hmm kenny i dont think you read carfully enough
it is true that most magazines do offer full bleed at no cost for their full page ads but that is not always the case
the extra charge is hardly ever .01% for those that dont
although some i have used have been close to that
double check your numbers its a printing issue not every page in every magazine is printed with full bleeds
that is why some magazines apply such fees
but my point is more of the concept control
why does every 4 color ad have to have color bleeding off the page? (it doesnt )using this as a rule of thumb limits you from the concept point of view
sure there have been plenty of very good ads done in 4 colors without bleed or with bleed on only specified sides
some paper campagins do exactly this to feature their products better
there are lots of other examples
you should look at creating an ad where you would use no bleed and the 4 or more color option
see how that works for you
be creative and flexible
dont limit yourself with sensless rules
that is realy what im saying
October 31st, 2005 at 3:32 pm
but… but… I’m allergic to cheese
October 31st, 2005 at 3:39 pm
please show me an example of a full-page magazine ad in which its concept is dependent on a no bleed situation.
November 5th, 2005 at 5:39 pm
No bleeds should be used sparingly, when the concept demands it. And usually, the concept doesn’t demand it. As a publisher (who doesn’t charge different prices for two- and three-colour and bleeds), we encourage the bleeds for effect. One of our (now-defunct) competitors, I recall, did an issue where many ads ran without bleeds—probably because they couldn’t be bothered resizing clients’ ads to its larger page format. We try to do so: just simple good sense to help your client when it cannot help itself.
September 9th, 2006 at 8:31 am
Who cares? It’s not about using every square millimeter of your space! It’s HOW you use it, be it full or non-bleed, if it fits the profile you go with what works. There’s no good reason to predispose of non-bleeding advertising.
And no, this has nothing to do with cheese, either. I like cheese, but I sure as hell won’t eat a bananabread sandwich with cheese on it.