If you are already in the job market, you know that every official document of a company must be done on letterhead, as a way of making official the information on the paper.
Although it may seem that creating a free letterhead template depends on specific techniques or programs, you will find that it is simpler than you think and can be done in Word, as we show in this tutorial.
What a Letterhead is?
This element, which is generally printed on corporate letter paper, is key to recording the company’s data on the letter. The information usually includes the name, postal address, email, telephone number, and logo.
It brings elegance and seriousness to the business and therefore, many business sectors are betting on it. Also, whenever a business provides its data to customers, it will be offering an indispensable trust, on many occasions, to proceed with the sale or contracting of services. Also, every company likes to be contacted by its customers, so we usually try to keep our contact details as close to hand as possible, both on letter paper and business cards, brochures, and other graphic products.
The Purpose of a Letterhead
We already know what a letterhead is, but what is it for? The letterhead appears, for example, in quotes, invoices, statements, proposals, or letters. In this way, it will be easy to obtain basic contact information and make things easier for customers who need to answer any questions.
Its main objective is to attract attention and, also, to point out the folio in a personalized way so that it serves as a valid and official document. You can write on it manually or ask a printer to ink the required data.
This type of document is widely used, among others, by lawyers, accountants, doctors, and logistics companies to deliver credible documents on the annotations made within the folio.
The Essentials of Letterhead Template Word
There are a few elements in a letterhead template word that are considered to play the role of essentials to it.
They include;
Letterhead graphics
Many of the Letterhead templates include an image on the paper to help identify your business brand. Often the image comes from the organization’s logo. It is usually located at the top of the letterhead, either centered or on the side.
The quality of the image and the printer used affect the way the letterhead template looks.
If you want to print the paper yourself or go to a professional printer with a low-quality machine, the letterhead template will likely turn out to be a difficult image to see or decipher. Poor logo quality on your computer will result in a logo quality image on your letterhead template.
Contact information
The company’s contact information is also on the letterhead. This information also defines the identity of the company. It also gives the recipient of the document easy access to your contact information. When the recipient needs to talk to you, he can find your phone number, business name, address, website, and email address.
This information is often found at the top or bottom of the letterhead, depending on the design selected.
Company motto
If the company has a slogan or short phrase, it is sometimes found on the letterhead. It can make the company stand out and help customers create a connection between the phrase and the company.
However, a very long tagline could clutter the page and detract from the contact information. When designing a letterhead for your company, the key is simplicity and adding essential information. It allows recipients to see what they need, make a positive connection to the company, and avoid overwhelming them.
Paper
The paper on which the letterhead is printed is also a part of the official company stationery’s overall appearance and design. Plain white or the off-white paper is most often used, and it gives letterhead a professional look. It also makes the printed portion of the letterhead template and added correspondence clearer. Very light and light paper tears more easily and appears of lower quality than thick and heavy paper.
Pre-Signature and Signature
Below the body of the letter, the sender’s signature and signature are placed. Some letterhead pages may include a graphic of the sender’s signature if the letter is sent as a file via email or if it is converted to PDF for use on the web.
Choosing the Right Design
Different kinds of business letterheads are used in the business sector to stand out from the competition. The possibilities are practically endless, but generally, the most used types of letterheads are given as follow along with free letterhead templates
Traditional letterhead
The white background of the paper will be adorned with corporate business information. It is the classic model and is usually placed at the bottom of the document and generally dark colors are used that give it seriousness.
Letterhead with background image
Adding a background image to your letterhead templates can help differentiate you from your competition and add a different touch to your document. Depending on the image you add, this touch could be modern or serious. Normally, companies add images that have to do with the business they do.
Color letterhead
Creative people explore new ideas and play color games to create original letterheads. They are very common in the advertising industry.
They are characterized by incorporating focused colors to give more emphasis to the information and attract attention with designs that denote ingenuity and imaginative power.
Photo letterhead
Before daring with a photo letterhead, make sure that the photo will be printed in the desired quality, that the photo is really good and adds something to the design of the document, and, above all, that it fits well within your business document. This type of letterhead template is rarely used so unless you are very clear that a letterhead with a photo is your thing, it is preferable to opt for some of the options that we expose you above.
Tips to Make a Professional Letterhead
As it is such an important marketing material for organizations, the Letterhead must follow the visual identity of the company, with the same colors and the same font that is used in other printed materials such as Business Cards, Flyers, or Corporate Folders.
Other points that should be taken into account when making a letterhead for your company are:
- The ideal size and alignment: The most suitable size for the letterhead is A4 size (21.0 x 29.7 cm). This size allows the document to be loaded in printed folders or envelopes and being a standard. It is recommended to have the text be center-aligned.
There is no specific model for letterhead template printing. The company logo usually appears on the material according to each company’s wishes, being subtle or in larger dimensions. The important thing is to keep the visual identity active.
The letterhead template must be exclusive and represent the company’s positioning graphically. It is a document that conveys credibility, professionalism and is generally used for contracts, letters, and budgets, as it allows a formal way of communication, especially between companies.
- Font size: To allow for proper readability, the font size should never be smaller than 10 points, especially if you are sending it by fax.
- Design: The graphics on the letterhead template should always coordinate with the graphics on the envelope and business card. If you use colors you should not overdo it and you should always keep the corporate colors.
- The color scheme: The color scheme is essential because of the psychological influence they have on people and maintain your company’s visual identity.
- Design according to your printer: If you are planning to print the letterhead then you should consider the type of printer you have while designing the printer because at the end of the day you will never want to be unable to print the letterhead template.
- Best software: There are a number of different softwares to create letterhead template but the Microsoft Word is by far the best as it is considered an industry-standard in the business world, moreover, it is easy to use and there are a lot of Word templates available.