Design for a 5 x 2 label

[kage65]

I'm having a design done for a 5 x 2 paper label. Here is what the label company told me,

Just ask your designer to add 1/8" bleeds on the graphic file size. If you are ordering a 5" x 2" , the graphic file's size should 5.25" x 2.25".

I printer out the design on my own printer, and the size is indeed about 5.25 x 2.25

I guess I'm confused about bleed. To compensate for bleed on a 5 x 2 label, shouldn't the file size be smaller, like 4.75 x 1.75 ?

Wouldn't a 5.25 x 2.25 file size print well over the actual label?

Thanks.

 

[MrToM]

More often than not when an image is printed it is printed on paper larger than the image size.
The image is then 'trimmed' down to the size required, removing the excess 'white' around the edge.

The printing and trimming processes cannot be guaranteed 100% accurate so a 'bleed' area is added just in case the trimming is a little 'off'.

Without this bleed area you may get a very small white line on some of the sides of the print where the excess 'white' area wasn't quite trimmed.

This is obviously undesirable.

Think of it as having more 'image' than needed from which the actual print size is 'cookie' cut from......if a little 'off' it'll still contain 'image' rather than any undesirable 'white'.

Regards.
MrTom.