Letterhead format in Word — set it once, type the letter
Margins, header and footer heights, type sizes — the format that makes a Word letterhead look like one. Upload your designed PDF and the format comes with it; skip the manual setup.
Search for “letterhead format in Word” and most of what you find is page-setup mechanics: which margin presets to use, how tall the header should be, the point sizes for a firm name against an address line. That advice is sound — if you are building a letterhead from a blank document.
But most people searching this already have the format. It is sitting in a designed PDF a stationer or designer handed them, with the margins, type, and spacing already decided. The job is not to rebuild that format by hand. It is to move the existing design into a Word file you can actually type a letter on.
That is what Letterhead Lab does. Upload the PDF and the artwork is placed into the Word document’s header and footer, proportioned to the page, with the body margins set to match. The format comes across with the design — you re-key none of it. Your PDF is parsed in your browser and never uploaded; it stays on your machine the entire time.
Format that travels with the design
A letterhead format is really four decisions: page size, margins, where the artwork sits, and where the body text starts. Convert a PDF and all four are set at once — the artwork lands in Word’s header and footer, and the body begins at the margin you set in the live preview.
If several people will draft on the letterhead, save it as a .dotx template so each letter opens as a fresh copy and the format cannot be edited away by accident. For letters that run long, the full format rules and the Multi-page bundle add a slimmer continuation header for pages two and on. Preview the layout free; pay $19 only when you download.
Frequently asked questions
- What page size should a Word letterhead use?
- US Letter (8.5 by 11 inches) in North America; A4 most other places. Letterhead Lab can output either, and the Multi-page bundle includes both sizes from one conversion.
- What margins should a letterhead in Word have?
- A common starting point is a 1.75-inch top margin, 1-inch bottom, and 0.75-inch sides — but the right numbers depend on how tall the artwork is. When you convert a PDF, the margins are set from the design automatically.
- How tall should the header and footer be?
- Tall enough to hold the artwork and no taller. Converting a PDF measures this from the design itself, and you can fine-tune the header and footer height in the preview before downloading.
- Should I save the letterhead as .docx or .dotx?
- Use .docx for a letterhead one person types on, and .dotx when several people share it — a .dotx opens as a new untitled copy each time, so nobody overwrites the master. The Multi-page bundle includes a .dotx.
- What if the converted format does not look right?
- Email hello@letterheadlab.com — we will either fix it or refund you.
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