A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of
letter paper
Letter (officially ANSI A) is a paper size standard defined in ANSI/ASME Y14.1 by the American National Standards Institute, commonly used as home or office stationery primarily in the United States, Canada, and the Philippines, and variably a ...
(
stationery
Stationery refers to writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery usually specifies materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer p ...
). It consists of a name, address,
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...
or
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
, and sometimes a background
pattern
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
.
Overview
Many companies and individuals prefer to create a letterhead template in a word processor or other software application. That generally includes the same information as pre-printed stationery but at lower cost. Letterhead can then be printed on stationery or plain paper, as needed, on a local output device or sent electronically.
Letterheads are generally printed by either the
offset or
letterpress
Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...
methods. In most countries outside North America, company letterheads are printed
A4 in size (210 mm x 297 mm). In North America, the
letter size is typically 8.5 x 11 inches (215 x 280 mm).
Although modern technology makes letterheads very easy to imitate, they continue to be used as evidence of authenticity.
[Federal Evidence Review, Editor's blog, 2009. http://federalevidence.com/blog/2009/august/documents-produced-discovery-were-“authentic-se”-during-summary-judgment-proceeding]
Gallery
File:National Normal University, Lebanon, Ohio.jpg, Letterhead (1896) for The National Normal University
National Normal University was a teacher's college in Lebanon, Ohio. Located in southwestern Ohio, it opened in 1855 as Southwestern Normal School and took the name National Normal University in 1870. Alfred Holbrook was the first president ...
, Lebanon, Ohio
Lebanon is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
History
Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. Th ...
, USA
File:Letterhead of Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo.svg, Letterhead used by Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo
See also
*
Document
A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...
*
Documentation
Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge managem ...
References
Further reading
* Wheeler, Alina. ''Designing Brand Identity'', 2012, pp. 146–147.
External links
Gallery of historic letterheads
Letters (message)
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