Bleed Defined.
Definition
Bleed is the extra strip of image or color that runs past the line where a printed page will be cut, so the ink reaches the very edge after trimming. KDP trims 0.125 in from the top, bottom and outside edges of each page, so anything meant to touch an edge must extend that far beyond the trim line.
Sources checked 20 October 2026.
How it works
Every KDP cover needs bleed; an interior needs it only if something should reach the edge of a page. Bleed works only with fixed files such as a print-ready PDF. Because the inside edge is bound, not cut, the page grows by one bleed in width and two in height: page width is trim width plus 0.125 in, and page height is trim height plus twice that. A book set up with bleed also needs wider outside margins, since the cut can wander slightly and text kept close to the edge risks being trimmed.
An example
A 6 x 9 inch workbook with full-page photos on some pages needs an interior page size of 6.125 in by 9.25 in, and each photo must stretch to the edge of that larger page. KDP's rule is that if even one page bleeds, the whole file is set up with bleed, so the text pages use the larger size too, with their margins measured from the trim line.
Common mistakes
Adding bleed to all four sides of an interior page, including the bound inside edge. Setting up bleed on only the pages with photos, when KDP wants the whole file sized for it. Uploading a Word file and expecting bleed to survive, when KDP supports it only in fixed-format files. And leaving text or page numbers close to the outside edge, where the trim can catch them.
