How to make a letterhead that repeats on every page

Publish by Zaweba includes a letterhead template that does the awkward part for you. Your heading and footer sit on the master page, so every page of the letter carries them automatically. Open the template, put in your name or business details and logo, and save it to use again. The app is free, offline Windows software with no account.

Headed paper is one of those things that looks simple until a letter runs onto a second page and the footer goes missing. Building it on a master page solves that properly.

Why the master page matters

A master page is a background layout that pages use. Anything placed on it, such as a logo, an address line, a footer with a phone number or a page number, appears on every page that uses that master. You edit it in one place and every page follows.

The letterhead template already has its heading and footer on the master. That means the body of each page stays clear for the letter itself, and you can't accidentally drag the logo while typing.

Page number and page count fields belong on a master too. Because master text is laid out per page, each page shows its own number, so a three-page letter can say page 1 of 3, 2 of 3 and so on without you touching it.

Setting up your details

Open the master and replace the sample heading with your name or business name. Add a logo by inserting, pasting or dragging in a picture, then double-click it to crop inside the frame if it has spare edges. Keep it modest in size; a letterhead is a frame for the letter, not a poster.

The footer is the place for an address, a phone number, an e-mail address and perhaps a company registration line. Small, quiet type works best here. Insert > Page parts has a contact details block if you want a ready-made layout, and it comes in the document's colours.

Name your brand colours in the document palette. If the colour ever changes, one edit restyles the heading, the rule under it and the footer at once.

Writing letters on it

Draw a text box in the body area of the page and type. If the letter runs long, the box shows a red plus. Click it, then click an empty box on the next page, and the text carries on. The master heading and footer are already waiting there.

Paragraph styles keep letters tidy. Set a style for the body, one for the date and one for the sign-off, and every letter you write looks the same.

Printing or sending it

For printing at home, use the Windows print dialog. Publish prints at actual size, centred. Print a single page first to check that the footer isn't too close to the bottom edge for your printer.

To send a letter by e-mail, export a PDF. Text stays real and selectable, and if you add a web or e-mail link with Insert > Hyperlink it is clickable in the PDF. The web PDF option keeps the file small by reducing pictures to 150 dpi.

If you want a batch of printed blank headed paper from a shop, export the print-ready PDF with bleed and crop marks. Colour is RGB only.

Keep the template file safe as an .ozp and make each letter as a copy. Your letterhead then never gets overwritten by last week's correspondence.