What is Letterhead?

If you’re interested in making your own business stationery, chances are you’ve wondered, “what is letterhead?” Business letterhead is a type of office stationery specifically designed to be used for a business letter or a professional document such as a memo. Letterhead comes in all different colors, patterns and designs, so when choosing a letterhead it is important to consider what sort of impression you want to send your clients or business associates.

When shopping for business letterhead, you’re bound to find many choices in letterhead style.  There are simple letterhead designs, colorful letterheads, letterheads that have nature or holiday themes and so forth.  Each type of letterhead can send a distinct impression to your document’s recipient; for example, a document printed on letterhead with a simple geometric design gives off a professional, organized vibe.  Such letterhead designs serve very well for legal documents, meeting schedules, etc.  On the other hand, letterheads with a floral, patriotic, or cloud designs are great choices for casual letters, such as an announcement for a company barbecue.

Designing and printing custom letterhead for yourself or your company is a snap; all you need is a word processing program.  Within a few minutes, you can easily create a letterhead template that is personalized with your company contact information; in doing so, you’ll always have a template to use again and again in the future.  A good first step is to insert your company logo; you can orient it however you wish, but keeping it at the top of the page is a good idea because it looks professional and will immediately familiarize your reader with your company.  Once you’ve determined the position of your logo, you can be very creative with your letterhead format.  For example, you can organize your contact information in the header of your document or put it in the footer; the choice is entirely up to you, but make sure to leave enough space for important contact details such as your name and title, address, phone and fax number and email address.  The body of your letter should be formatted simply so it can be easily read; in most cases, the date of the letter is oriented to the right, your salutation and letter content to the left, and your closing statement to the right.

Learning how to create and print your own letterhead is a worthwhile activity because it will save you time and money in the long run.  Use printable letterhead and do-it-yourself!