{{Short description|Heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper stationery}} [[File:Albert Einstein's exam of maturity grades (color2).jpg|thumb|The certificate of maturity issued to Albert Einstein by the cantonal Education Council of Aargau, Switzerland, in 1896 (see letterhead).]] thumb|French letterhead paper from a cattle commerce company in 1910 A '''letterhead''' is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper (stationery). It consists of a name, address, logo or trademark, and sometimes a background pattern.
==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 methods. In most countries outside North America, company letterheads are printed A4 in size (210 mm x 297 mm).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.neenahpaper.com/Resources/AboutPaper/InternationalSizes|title=International Paper Sizes {{!}} Neenah Paper|website=www.neenahpaper.com|access-date=2017-02-26}}</ref> 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.<ref>Evidence and the Advocate: A Contextual Approach to Learning Evidence, Christopher W. Behan. LexisNexis, 2014. {{ISBN|0327175044}}, 9780327175049</ref><ref>Federal Evidence Review, Editor's blog, 2009. http://federalevidence.com/blog/2009/august/documents-produced-discovery-were-“authentic-se”-during-summary-judgment-proceeding</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery> File:National Normal University, Lebanon, Ohio.jpg|Letterhead (1896) for The National Normal University, Lebanon, Ohio, USA File:Letterhead of Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo.svg|Letterhead used by Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo File:Bermuda Volunteer Engineers (Royal Engineers) crest from stationery letterhead.jpg|Stationery letterhead with the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers (Royal Engineers) insignia </gallery>
== See also == * Document * Documentation
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * Wheeler, Alina. ''Designing Brand Identity'', 2012, pp. 146–147.
== External links == {{Commons category|Letterheads}} * [https://www.letterheady.com/ Gallery of historic letterheads]
Category:Letters (message)
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