why is there a limit of 1 inch bleed in illustrator? I need more.

Just change the damn limit. Everyone knows the workarounds, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!!

Save as an EPS and then create a PDF of the file in Acrobat.

I think a lot of you guys are missing the point. Why the heck is the there a limitation to the bleed size anyways? I mean, I can get them putting like a 20 inch restriction on it or something like that, but ONE INCH?? 2 inches isn't exactly extreme. This seems to come down to two things: 1) Laziness--I'm not a programmer, but I have a basic understanding of how it works and don't understand how it could exactly require days of additional time from the programmers to fix this. At best, it would have taken a few seconds to fix before the recent version went out--at worst, a few hours. 2) The Illustrator team's recent approach to dictating how everyone SHOULD use the program. The first time I really noticed this is when they changed how the "Ctrl" + "+/-" for zooming worked. It had been one way for the 13+ years I've been using Illustrator and they changed it to "zoom to selection"...for no reason at all other than, what I can guess, is that the team working on it uses a different method personally to zoom in and they figured they could jack with it cause everyone else must do it the same way as them. So in the same manner, they figured "Ah....most print materials require a 1/8th" bleed and we never work on anything larger than that, so who needs more than an inch?" I think it's their disconnect with the working world that actually uses these programs for SOOO many things.

Make your Artboard in Illustrator large enough to include Bleed for the art. Then Place the art in a new inDesign file that includes the 1" Bleed you need.

I regularly use illustrator CC for large format projects requiring various "bleeds" greater than finished size in excess of 11" and have been involved in projects spanning 64,000 sqft.

Like Ton suggested, increasing your artboard size will provide you with greater control.

I would also recommend utilizing layers with graphics as templates/guides so your finish size isn't lost within your mind's memory.  For example, "finish line" might represent a banner once hemmed up and "cut line" might represent the bleed needed to provide the hem or pockets to meet the finish requirements.  You could then utilize the document settings bleed for production outside your cut line.

To illustrate further I'll run you through a typical banner with hems and pole pockets workflow.  Banner finishes/installs at 1219.2mm (48") x 2438.4mm (96").  The sides need 25.4mm (1") hems, and the top and bottom require 127mm (5") pockets for installation (pole pockets).  I would set my art board to 50"x106", create a finish layer with a box measuring 48"x96".  Since I work with digital cutters I create a trim layer recognized by the cutter with a box representing the cut line at 50x106 and can utilize the document settings to add a typical .5" bleed all around that will be removed as waste.

Hope this helps.

Jeff's suggestion is a good one.

Have you checked with the output provider? Many of the large format providers I know actually prefer InDesign-built files to Illustrator, particularly if there are raster images in the composition. The extra bleed capability is a bonus.

If this is a layout, you may want to consider creating it in InDesign. The maximum Bleed is 6" in ID.

When you work in a scale in 25% and you need a bleed finally of 30mm, it would be 7.5mm in your scale!

valn,

Is it too silly to suggest 20% scale with a 24mm bleed which should give the same final printing result (with the corresponding adaptation of raster effect settings and raster image resolluions)?