Bleed not showing properly when exported

[#1]

I ma trying to export with a .125 bleed for a 8.5x11 page but the output is showing incorrect total size together with the bleed.

Output  should be a 8.625 x 11.125 inches but after the export output is 8.75 x 11.25.

I wonder what I'm doing wrong. I tried a new workspace but the output is still the same it seems to ad a couple of mm on the bleed. Any suggestions or solutions will be a great help.

[James Gifford—NitroPress · Accepted solution]

Check your math. Bleed is added to all four sides unless you specifically set it to be asymmetrical. 

8.5 + .125 + .125 =  8.75. Fancy that... 🙂

[#3]

Hmmm.. I see. But the printer was telling me to use .125 bleed on all sides and asked for a 8.625 x 11.125 inches output. Are they wrong? 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

From what you're saying, yes, they messed up the math. But a printer doesn't usually care what size a layout is after bleeds and crop marks and such. It's up to them to impose the layout on their press by the trim or finish size, and as long as bleeds and marks are there, the total size of the document is irrelevant.

Unless they just flubbed the math, the misunderstanding and need for an exact layout size is a bit of a red flag here, that someone doesn't quite know what they are doing.

But 99 times out of 100, a bleed size means "on all sides" and thus doubles across each dimension. Sometimes, in book printing and the like, a bleed can be only one edge, or not symmetrical. But that's rare and usually spelled out clearly.

[#5]

Thank you for the input. Maybe I'll just share with them this knowledge you just told me.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I'd just start by going through the math with them to see what they meant. Maybe they made a hasty mistake,  maybe something else is going on. But do report back. 🙂

[augustmp68]

I'm having the same issue with the bleed not exporting correctly. I've tried everything and it's not working. My last file exported perfectly but this latest one just won't. I'm not sure if someting in an InDesign update is causing issues or what, but I'm frustrated.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@augustmp68 

Can you post some screenshots?

Sample page in InDesign - VIEW / SCREEN MODE / NORMAL, the same page from the exported PDF in Acrobat, settings you've set in the document setup and export dialog.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Or any details beyond "it's not working." But the specifics of doc and menu screenshots will help a lot.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

You are NOT having the same issue. The OP had wrong info about how much bleed to use, but it was an input error. 

Better off starting a new post with LOTS more info (platform, OS version, ID version, etc.), including screen captures showing your PDF export settings.