Most letterhead problems in Word come down to measurements: a header that's too tall, a logo that's too wide, or a footer that sits where the printer can't reach. This spec sheet gives exact letterhead size values for a US Letter page and shows where each number goes in Word's settings.
Standard letterhead size: 8.5 x 11 inches, and what that leaves you
The standard US letterhead size is 8.5 x 11 inches, the same as US Letter paper. What matters is how much of that page you can actually use.
| Zone | Recommended value | |---|---| | Left and right margins | 1 inch each | | Usable text width | 6.5 inches | | Printer-safe edge | Keep artwork 0.25 inch or more from every edge | | First-page top margin | 2 inches | | Bottom margin | 1 inch |
Most office printers can't print the outer 0.25 inch or so of the sheet. Artwork that runs closer to the edge than that gets cut off on desk printers, even if it looks fine on screen. For more on this, see Word page margins for letterhead.
Header height: how many inches before body text collides
Keep the first-page header zone between 1.25 and 1.75 inches tall, measured from the top edge of the page. Word controls this with two settings:
- Header from top: 0.5 inch. This is where the header content starts.
- Top margin: 2 inches. This is where body text starts.
In Word for Windows, open Layout > Margins > Custom Margins. Set the top margin on the Margins tab and "Header from edge" on the Layout tab. If the header content is taller than the top margin allows, Word doesn't overlap the two. It pushes the body text down, so your margins stop matching what you typed. A 0.5 inch start plus 1.25 inches of artwork leaves 0.25 inch of space above the body at a 2 inch top margin. The full geometry is covered in letterhead header height in Word.
Logo size on a letterhead: width and height in inches
For a first-page header, use these values:
- Width: 1.5 to 2.5 inches
- Height: 0.5 to 1 inch
- Resolution: 300 pixels per inch at final size, so a 2 inch wide logo needs about 600 pixels across
Wide wordmarks can go up to 3 inches if nothing else shares the header row. Tall or square marks should stay at 1 inch high or less, or they eat into the header budget above. Set the size in inches in Word's Picture Format > Size fields. Don't drag the corner handles. Letterhead logo size in Word walks through those fields.
Footer dimensions: address line, margins, and printer-safe space
A footer usually holds one or two lines: address, phone, website. At 8 to 9 point type, that's about 0.3 to 0.4 inch of height.
- Footer from bottom: 0.5 inch
- Bottom margin: 1 inch
- Footer text width: 6.5 inches, matching the body
This leaves the footer above the 0.25 inch printer-safe line, with a clear gap between the last line of body text and the address. If you need a third line, raise the bottom margin to 1.25 inches rather than shrinking the font below 8 point. Locking the letterhead footer in Word covers how to keep that address line from shifting.
Continuation pages: smaller header, same margins
Page two and later pages don't need the full letterhead. Common continuation specs:
- Header: 0.75 to 1 inch tall, often just a small logo or wordmark
- Logo width: about 1 inch
- Top margin: 1.25 inches
- Side and bottom margins: same as page one
Keep the side margins identical so the text column doesn't jump between pages. In Word, turn on "Different First Page" in the header options, then build the smaller header on page two. The setup is in Word letterhead second page different header.
Check your letterhead size before it goes into Word
Before you build anything, open the PDF and measure three things: the header artwork height from the top edge, the logo width, and the distance from the footer to the bottom edge. Compare them to the numbers above. If the header artwork runs past 2 inches, decide now whether the body starts lower or the artwork needs a revision from your designer.
Once the measurements check out, Letterhead Lab takes the existing PDF and lifts the artwork into Word's header and footer, with the margins set to match. The body stays clean for typing. Conversion runs in your browser, so the PDF is never uploaded to a server. Preview is free. You pay only at download: $19 at launch pricing (normally $39) for a single page, or $49 at launch pricing (normally $79) for up to 10 pages from one PDF. Full details are on the pricing page.
Letterhead Lab doesn't design letterheads. It converts one that already exists. If your measurements show the design itself needs to change, that work goes back to your designer first.