Bleed

Bleed is a little bit of extra artwork on the design but not on the final card. (See the red area in image 2 below)

Why it exists:
When the design is printed, the card is cut to size, but cutting isn’t 100% perfect every time.
Think fractions of a millimetre. Bleed makes sure you don’t end up with tiny white lines around the edges.

Simple way to imagine it:
If your design is meant to go right to the edge, you deliberately make it slightly bigger than needed, then cut it down.

Trading card design size: 69mm × 94mm.
Printed and cut to size, the final card is 63mm x 88mm.
The extra 3mm gets trimmed off side each after printing.

Margin

Margin is the 3mm space you leave around the outer edge of the finished card. (See the green area in image 3 below)

Why it exists:
Text, logos and tops of players heads, need room to breathe on the card. When positioned too close to the edge, it can make it look cramped.

Simple way to imagine it:
It’s a buffer zone around the edge of the card so all the important elements have their own space.

Keep in mind:
Background colours, patterns and foreground artwork, can go all the way into the bleed.
Bleed - outer 3mm of the design that gets cut off. See red below.
Margin - 3mm to 6mm in from the edges on the design, outer 3mm of the card. See green below.