01
Printed by people, not machines
Letterhead has one failure mode that automated printers never catch: the design looks right, but there is nowhere left to type. A dedicated Print Concierge checks your file for the practical things a template cannot, including whether the header leaves a usable writing area, whether the footer will collide with a standard printer margin, and whether a full-bleed background will actually feed through the office equipment you plan to use. If we see a problem we contact you before printing, not after a thousand sheets are boxed.
02
Choosing your paper weight
Letterhead is one of the few printed pieces someone holds while reading it word for word, so the stock is doing quiet work the whole time.
- 12pt standard: a proper business weight that still feeds reliably through office printers and copiers. The right choice for day-to-day correspondence, invoices and volume.
- 13pt premium: noticeably more substantial in the hand, with better opacity so print does not show through from the reverse. Worth it for proposals, contracts and anything going to a client who is deciding whether to trust you.
If your letterhead mostly carries invoices, take the standard. If it carries proposals, take the premium.
03
Designing letterhead that stays usable
The most common mistake in business letterhead is treating it as a poster. It is a frame for text that has not been written yet. Keep the header to the top inch and a half, keep the footer shallow, and leave the entire centre clear. Anything printed in the body area will end up behind a paragraph. A watermark can work but only at very low contrast, and never behind the first block of text. If you are printing at home or in the office afterwards, remember most desktop printers cannot print to the edge, so a full-bleed border may come back with a white margin.
04
Getting your artwork print-ready
Send a print-ready PDF at 300 DPI in CMYK with 0.125 inch bleed on every edge if your design runs to the edge.
- Keep text and logos at least 0.25 inch inside the trim.
- Convert type to outlines or embed your fonts.
- Set the document at 8.5 x 11 inches, not A4, unless you tell us otherwise.
We also accept AI and high-resolution PNG or JPG. If any of that is unfamiliar, upload what you have and the Concierge will tell you what needs changing.
05
Need letterhead designed?
Choose Design it for me and our professional design team will build your letterhead for $75, laid out to leave a proper writing area, and hand back a print-ready file you own outright. Letterhead is usually ordered alongside business cards and envelopes, and we can match all three so they read as one identity.
06
Printing and delivery
Our press runs seven days a week and we ship nationwide from Florida. Order by 3PM ET and production starts the same day, with the arrival estimate at the top of this page updating live as you configure. Shipping is free over $120 and a flat $15 below that. Ordering letterhead together with business cards is the usual way people clear the free-shipping line.
