Trim marks and the Crop marks effect in Vectornation

Anything that is printed and then cut to size needs to tell the person with the guillotine where to cut. Crop marks, also called trim marks, are the short lines outside the corners of the artwork that show the finished edge. Vectornation by Zaweba gives you two ways to add them, and choosing the right one depends on how the job is likely to change.

The first is Object > Packaging > Create trim marks. The second is the live effect Effect > Crop marks.

Create trim marks

Object > Packaging > Create trim marks draws trim marks around the selected artwork as ordinary paths. They sit in the document like any other lines, so you can move them, recolour them or delete them.

This is the straightforward choice when the artwork is finished. You make the marks, check them, and send the file. Because they are plain paths, any print shop's software will see them exactly as you placed them.

The live Crop marks effect

Effect > Crop marks adds the marks as a live effect on the artwork. The difference is that the marks follow the object. Resize a card, change its proportions or move it, and the marks move and resize with it.

This suits jobs that are still changing. If you are setting up a label and the size has not been settled, or you are laying out several pieces that may be rearranged, the live effect saves you from redrawing marks every time.

A typical print job

Start by deciding the finished size and drawing a rectangle at exactly that size. That rectangle is what the marks should be built around. Extend background colours and pictures past it into the bleed, so a slight error in cutting does not leave a white sliver along the edge.

Then add the marks, either by creating trim marks from the rectangle or by applying the Crop marks effect to it. Keep important text and logos well inside the finished edge, as cutting is never perfectly precise.

Several items on one sheet

Business cards, tickets, labels and swing tags are often printed several to a sheet. Each item needs its own marks. With the live effect, applying it to each item's background rectangle means the marks stay with each one as you arrange the sheet. With created trim marks, make the marks after the layout is final, as rearranging means moving every set by hand.

Leave enough space between items for the marks themselves to be clear. Marks that overlap neighbouring artwork are confusing at the cutting stage.

Building marks around artwork that includes the bleed is the classic mistake, as the marks then show the wrong cut line. Always base them on the finished size.

Another slip is forgetting that marks need to be visible on every printing plate. Plain black or registration colour is usual; light colours may not show on all plates.

Finally, if your print shop asks for a file without marks because their own software adds them, leave them off. It is always worth asking how they prefer files before you start.

Fitting into the rest of the app

Crop marks sit alongside the rest of the print tools in Vectornation, which is aimed at print ready output as well as screen work. Used with careful artboard sizes and bleed, they help the file you send arrive at the printer ready to run without questions coming back.