Game board: bleeds 20 mm double, back, format

1. Top of the top: 20 mm of bottom lost on each side

The front of a game board (the face visible when playing) is the centrepiece of the game, the one that is seen at each part and on which the action takes place. It is also the piece that undergoes the most manufacturing steps: printing on coated paper, lashing on rigid compact cardboard, folding (if foldable tray), trimming of edges, surface finish.

Each of these steps brings its own machine tolerance. Cumulated, they can reach several millimetres of offset between the printed visual and the cut-out final format. That's why we ask 20 mm of bleed on either side of the front.

In practice, how to work the front

Finished format of the board : the official size of your order (e.g. 600 x 600 mm).
Format of the front file : finished size + 20 mm on each side, so 640 x 640 mm for a 600 x 600 mm tray.
Quiet interior area : do not put text, pictograms, logos less than 3 mm from the edge of the board.
Playboxes : to remove the outer cells from the edge of the edge from 5 to 10 mm so that they are not truncated by a cutting offset.

Attention : The 20 mm of bleeds must contain an extension of the bottom and illustrations, not white. If your tray has a decorative frame on the edges, extend the frame in 20 mm so that you cut into the material, not in white.

2. Top of the board: 5 mm of bleeds and reduced finished format

The back of a board (the side that touches the table) is less critical than the front. It does not wear play boxes, is not seen during the game, and does not have the same bending constraints. 5 mm of bleeds are enough, as for an industrial box.

Finished format on the back: 10 mm less than the front

Essential point to understand: on a glued tray, the back has a finished format 10 mm smaller than the front, en hauteur comme en largeur.

The technical reason: the front is printed on a large paper that covers the entire surface, including the edges that fall around the cardboard and pass below. The back is glued inside and covers only the central part of the bottom. It does not cover the edges where the front falls.

Concrete example for a 600 x 600 mm tray:

Front: file size 640 x 640 mm (20 mm of bleeds per side). Finished format displayed 600 x 600 mm.
Verso: file format 600 x 600 mm (5 mm of bleeds per side). Finished format displayed 590 x 590 mm.

Our advice: we always provide two separate templates (recto + back) with the exact dimensions calculated according to your command format. Working directly on these templates avoids any deviation calculation to be done by hand.

Quiet area on the back

Same rule as everywhere: do not put text, pictograms or logos within 3 mm of the edge If the back is marked with your brand logo, copyright or legal information, place them in the centre with a margin of 5 to 10 mm to absorb the slipping offsets.

3. Most common tray formats

Finished format double	Format file front (20 mm fp)	Finished format back	Use
200 x 200 mm	240 x 240 mm	190 x 190 mm	Mini tray, express game
300 x 300 mm	340 x 340 mm	290 x 290 mm	Child tray, quick play
400 x 400 mm	440 x 440 mm	390 x 390 mm	Plateau moyen
500 x 500 mm	540 x 540 mm	490 x 490 mm	Plateau standard 4 joueurs
600 x 600 mm	640 x 640 mm	590 x 590 mm	Grand plateau
700 x 500 mm	740 x 540 mm	690 x 490 mm	Plateau rectangulaire
800 x 600 mm	840 x 640 mm	790 x 590 mm	Very large tray

For folding trays (2, 4 or 6 shutters) or custom-made formats, we adapt the template by integrating the folding areas. page Custom game boards for material options (compact 1500 micrometres, paper-backed 135 g/m2 hard or foldable magnetic trays).

4. Large-format resolution: a technical challenge

A game board is one of the largest printed formats in the game. At 300 dpi, the required resolution climbs quickly:

Finished format	Pixels minimum (300 dpi)
400 x 400 mm	4724 x 4724 px
500 x 500 mm	5906 x 5906 px (~35 Mpx)
600 x 600 mm	7087 x 7087 px (~50 Mpx)
800 x 600 mm	9449 x 7087 px (~67 Mpx)

For large trays, it is strongly recommended to work in vectoriel (Illustrator) Whenever possible: illustrations, patterns, lines, texts remain clear regardless of size. High resolution photos are possible but require a very large source file, which can limit the fluidity of work.

Classic trap: To recover an illustration image of 1500 x 1500 px and to enlarge it to 600 x 600 mm = 64 dpi final, i.e. categorical blur. To work systematically in vectorial for the graphic elements of a board.

5. Files to be provided and transmission format

For a board, provide two PDF files distincts :

Recto : a PDF in file format (finished format + 20 mm of bleeds on each side), Without cutting lines.
Verso : a PDF in file format (finished format reduced by 10 mm + 5 mm of bleeds on each side), Without cutting lines.

Important : do not provide cutting lines The manufacturing format is imposed by the lashing line and we manage the cutting internally. If you send us a file with cutting lines, we have to clean them, which lengthens the time.

Name files explicitly: plateau_projet_recto.pdf And plateau_projet_verso.pdf. Specify in the brief any Pantone and special finishes (matt or gloss coating, selective varnishes on certain areas).

6. Special cases: folding and magnetic trays

Foldable plates (2, 4 or 6 flaps)

A folding tray is divided into shutters separated by hinges in fabric or reinforced paper. do not place a critical element (keybox, playline, central illustration) directly on the hingeThe hinge has a width of 1 to 3 mm depending on the substance, and a component on it is partially masked or deformed.

Our template systematically indicates the position and thickness of the hinges.

Magnetic plates (Integrated Velleda Slate)

On some premium B2B trays, you can add a magnetic zone or a white eraseable slate (Velléda type) to allow writing during play. This area is usually a specific panel that is added in finish. Treat it in the file as a neutral area (no printing on it, just a white or plain color area).

7. Checklist before sending the board file

Front: file format = finished format + 20 mm of bleeds per side
Verso: finished size reduced by 10 mm + 5 mm of bleed per side
No cutting lines
Quiet area 3 mm respected on front and back
Outside play boxes at least 5-10 mm from the edge
Preferred vector for illustrations and texts
So bitmap: 300 dpi to full size (very large images)
CMYK Coated Fogra 39 mode, vectored fonts
Foldable tray: no critical elements on hinges
Two PDFs: separate front and back

For technical bases applicable to all media, see our general information sheet. For boxes containing trays, consult the box form.

French manufacturing process B2B

Understanding the downstream process illuminates file preparation choices. Here are the main manufacturing steps in order:

Receiving and checking the file (24 to 48 hours). Our studio checks: CMYK mode, resolution, bleeds, vectored fonts, quiet area, text meaning per face. If not compliant, return with detailed report for correction.
BAT validation (Good to shoot, 24h). We send a PDF or physical BAT according to your choice. Explicit validation mandatory before launch.
Pressing and printing (3-7 days)Offset for medium and large series, digital for small quantities and prototypes. Plant inks on all our B2B supports.
Finishes (1 to 5 days depending on options). Film coating, selective varnish, hot gilding, embossing, polishing of the songs: check our glossary of finishes.
Cut, fold, back-up, assembly (2-5 days). On our industrial lines or in ESAT workshop for manual operations with high added value.
Quality control and packaging (1 to 2 days). EN71 compliance test on games intended for a family or child audience, visual inspection of the whole lot.
Shipping (24 to 72 hours)Delivery France metropolitan via partner carrier. Possibility of logistics storage at our home for orders spread over time.

Average total time: 3 to 5 weeks depending on complexity, finishes and quantity. For urgent orders (seminars, trade shows), we offer an express mode on certain formats: request a quote.

Regulatory compliance and certification

Board games intended for the general public or children must meet several standards:

EN71-1, EN71-2, EN71-3 European standard on the safety of toys (mechanical resistance, flammability, chemical migration). Our cards, cases, boxes and trays for children or families are systematically tested. See our page on safety standards toy.
CE : compulsory marking for sale in the European Union. Cover EN71 and other directives.
REACH European Chemicals Regulation. Our inks and film-coated products are REACH compliant.
PEFC / FSC : certifications for sustainable forest management. We work with certified papers on request.
ESAT (Establishment and Labour Support Service) : our partner workshop in Brittany is a ESAT, which allows the client companies to count their orders under the obligation to employ disabled workers (Law of 11 February 2005).

In your brief, specify the expected certifications: we adapt the materials and processes accordingly.

Questions frequent

Why 20 mm of money lost on the front of a board?

The front of a game board (the face visible when playing) is usually glued to a thick and folded board. The steps of back-collection, folding and finishing combine important tolerances, plus 20 mm of margin also integrate the folding areas if the board is foldable. 20 mm ensure that no white elements appear on the game face, even on the most exposed edges.

Why only 5 mm of money lost on the back?

The backside is less critical: it is usually not folded the same way as the front, does not carry play boxes, and the finished format of the backside is 10 mm smaller than that of the front side (the backside does not cover folded edges). With 5 mm of bleeds, one has the margin necessary to absorb the backside offset on the front.

Why does the reverse have to have a finished format smaller than the front?

On a foldable, laminated board, the front (visible side) covers the entire surface including the edges that fall; the back (under) is glued inside and does not cover the folded edges. The finished format of the back is therefore 10 mm smaller in height and width than that of the front. Example: for a 600 x 600 mm board, the back is 590 x 590 mm.

Should the board be provided with or without cutting lines?

Without cutting lines for trays. The manufacturing format is imposed by the cross-slicing line and we manage the cutting in-house. If you send us a file with cutting lines, we have to clean them, which lengthens the time.

What standard size for a board game board?

The common formats: 200 x 200 mm (mini tray for single play), 400 x 400 mm (medium plate), 500 x 500 mm (standard plate 4 players), 600 x 600 mm (large plate), 700 x 500 mm (retangular plate), 800 x 600 mm (very large plate). Foldable plates possible in 2, 4 or 6 flaps. We adapt to any custom format.

What minimum resolution for a large tray?

300 dpi at the actual size. For a 600 x 600 mm tray, it represents about 7087 x 7087 pixels (50 megapixels). It is large but essential for sharpness. Prefer to vector illustrations (Illustrator) that always print sharp regardless of size.

Sources and references

INSEE — French games & toys market studies 2025
European standard EN71 — toy safety (EN71-1 mechanical, EN71-2 flammability, EN71-3 chemical)
FFJP — French federation of toy and childcare industries
AFNOR — responsible paper labels PEFC and FSC
Bpifrance study — SMEs and B2B purchasing 2026

Need a custom template for your project? We provide a template dedicated to each order, the exact size of your format and the bleeds set on the manufacturing line. EN71 compliance, including plant inks and ESAT manufacturing.

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