How to Make Letterheads

How to Make Letterheads

Rather than writing your letters on standard blank paper, print your messages on a well-designed letterhead! These branded stationery items not only contain professional correspondence, but they also help give customers, employees, and business partners the right impression.

A beautiful letterhead is a perfect opportunity for you to market your business and increase its credibility and legitimacy. Here is a quick and easy guide on how to make letterheads for companies:

01 Optimising for Printing

Before you begin designing letterheads for companies, you must first set-up your file to make it optimised for printing. The proper file set-up makes sure that you get quality letterheads and other prints every time.

Use the right design tools to create your design. The best tools for the job are Adobe Indesign and Adobe Illustrator. Both of these design software have all the tools you need to create your letterhead design. 

When setting up your design file, don’t forget to include a 3mm bleed and a 3mm margin. A bleed prevents the appearance of a thin white strip at the edge of the page. A margin, on the other hand, prevents significant design elements from being cut off.

Don’t forget to set your design file’s colour mode to CMYK. This colour mode gives you a better idea of how your colours will turn out.

02 Get Back to Basics

Letterhead business example

The first things you need to include in your letterhead are your logo and company name. You can also choose to include your slogan or tagline. Putting these branding elements in your letterheads for companies will help increase brand recognition and visibility.

It is also necessary for you to include some of your business contact information in letterheads for companies. You can add your physical address, phone numbers, company website, email address, and even the company’s social media handles. However, there’s no need to put every single contact detail on the page. Choose what is most necessary and put that in your letterheads.

Some countries also require businesses to include necessary legal information in their letterheads, such as VAT identification number or registration number.

03 Just Designs

Design letterheads

The next step is creating your letterhead design. It’s easy to get carried away, considering the few rules in letterhead design. However, you must always remember the two main functions of a letterhead: to establish connections through written communication and increase brand recognition and visibility.

One of the fundamental rules in creating letterheads for companies is to leave enough room for the content. While images and illustrations are a great addition to its design, they should not pull focus from the letter’s content.

Establishing visual hierarchy is essential for designing letterheads and other marketing tools. Prioritising specific elements in your design helps you catch people’s attention and communicate more effectively. Crucial design elements, like your logo and business name, need to be the most prominent on the page, followed by your tagline and contact details.  

If you’re at a loss to what style or approach to use with designing your letterheads, go with a simple design. These stationery items are mainly for correspondence. Create a simple but beautiful design that gives space to your written message without being distracting. 

Whatever design you make, don’t forget to incorporate your branding design into your letterheads. Add your branding’s colour scheme, fonts, imagery, and other design elements to the page.

04 Printing Your Letterhead

Once you’re satisfied with your letterhead design, save your design in a PDF file, a format accepted by all printers. It preserved the fonts, images, graphics, and layouts, and colours of any design. 

Making your letterheads for companies does not end there. The paper you choose during the ordering process also has a significant role to play in sending your brand message.

First, choose the paper type for your letterheads. You can choose between Standard Paper in white or off-white or Textured paper in white and off-white. The texture of the paper enhances the experience of the reader as they hold the page in their hands.

Next, choose the paper thickness. The right paperweight can send the right message to your customers, employees, and business partners. For example, thicker paper can give readers the impression that your business is luxurious and stylish.

The next step in printing your letterhead is choosing between single-sided printing or double-sided printing. Most businesses commonly print only on one side of the page. However, some maximise the use of the paper’s backside by printing the company’s logo.

Lastly, choose how many letterheads to print for your business. Print enough to last you for at least six months to a year. If you are anticipating any changes in your business’ physical address or contact details, order enough letterheads for companies to last you until that update. You want to avoid ending up with excess letterheads with outdated information.

Letterheads for companies give your business a chance to promote your brand in a subtle but consistent manner. Creating the right design and choosing the right paper can also help in establishing your business’ credibility. Now you know how to create your own letterheads, head over to Helloprint to produce your stunning letterheads right now!