Data Merge Layout add bleed at borders but not in between

[johannesz]

Hello! I'm trying to print playing cards using data merge layout, (or data merge manager) but I need a bleed around the cards, but not in between the cards, to reduce the amount of time it takes to cut them. This is what I currently have:

Here I'm missing the bleed (3mm) around the 8 cards. I tried adding a black rectangle around all 8 cards for the bleed, but that only works if the page is full, printing 8 cards - the last page rarely has 8 cards however.

I have the same issue designing a single card and then trying to print the generated cards using N-Up. I can either activate bleed for all cards or none. I only need the outline though...

Is there a way to accomplish this in publisher?

 

Edit: I created this using CSS & HTML, and it shows what I mean/want

[Oufti]

If it is compatible with your design (like a plain border in your example), why don't you set a bleed for each card and align them so that the bleed of one is superposed on the other's border ?

[johannesz]

Hm that's what I tried, but the data merge tool cuts off anything outside each element. I think what I technically need here is a negative value for the grid gutter of the data merge tool to overlap the cards - but that doesn't seem to possible

[Oufti]

[I'm not very tough in using Master pages nor datamerge, so I will only use generic terms and let someone else interpret them in Publisher terms…]

Your problem could perhaps be solved if you had for each new page a "background" with the eight card borders — as in your 2nd capture, but always complete with eight cards so when you cut you have the bleed — and there above the text "layer" with "datamerge fields". 

[johannesz]

Ah thanks - I played around a little with the data merge layout tool. The solution was to create multiple layouts (they share the same data source). So instead of using 1 layout with 4 columns and 1 rows, I created 8 layouts (1 card each), and overlapped them with their bleed.

[Old Bruce]

Would this work? Pay attention to the way the Frame Text Text Frame is built, Fill and Stroke and Offsets.

Thing.zip