What to consider before Printing your Letterheads

If you want to print letterheads in Nigeria or even any part of the world, here are some things that should guide your decision. I advice you hold on the printing of your company stationery until you read this piece. You can also study our piece on what to consider before printing business cards in Nigeria. So if you also wish to print your complimentary card here in Lagos or any other part of Nigeria, you will do yourself some good to study that write up.

What are Letterheads?

Letterheads are simply a piece of paper pre-printed with contact details, legal information and your company logo or corporate design. The vast majority of letterheads are printed A4 in size (210mm x 297mm).

Why does my business need a Letterhead?

There are many reasons you need a quality letterhead paper for your business. If you ever write to your clients or send them quotes/estimates then ideally you will need to have some form of company letterhead. It can also be used to write proposals, prepare legal documents to your bank or wherever your corporate signature is needed. Your company letterhead will often be the first point of contact with a new customer and you need to impress them. Well designed and professionally printed letterheads will convey the right impression of your company to your clients

Things to consider before printing your Letterheads…

1. Image: Before you go ahead to design and print your letterhead, you need to consider who your customers are and what impression you want to convey to them. Here are some of the impressions that you can end up sending: established, new, modern, traditional, technological, fun, eco-friendly, the list goes on. So there is need to consider what image you want your letterhead to portray. It could be quite simple with just a typestyle for your business name and address, or, you could have a local scene, landmark or elaborate design printed on your letterhead.The logo, font, typeface and even the type of paper that you choose will help get this impression across, although it is easy to get this wrong. It is a good idea to have your letterhead designed professionally by a graphic designer, a designer will ensure your letterhead stands out from your competition and projects just the right image for your company. A well designed and well printed letterhead is necessary for any company, whether large or small.
2. Important Information to display: There are already known information people look out for in a letterhead. They include your logo and contact (office address, phone numbers, emails and website). If you are registered in Nigeria for instance, it would be wise to insert your RC Number so your recipient knows he/she is dealing with a genuine legally registered Nigerian company. Also, your letterhead may contain a list of your services and products so that it serves as a miniature brochure of your company. Finally, it may be necessary in some cases to include your board of trustees(for NGOs) or Board of Directors for companies especially if you have known names in your industry.
3. Paper: It is important that your letterhead can be over printed using your home/office printer without problems, therefore, you should ensure that the paper being used is a laser compatible uncoated paper. Generally in Nigeria, the more common papers are matt and conqueror with the later being a little more expensive. Your letterhead can be printed on many different types of paper in various weights (gms = grams per metre squared) different finishes and colours. Papers suitable for printing a letterhead range from 80gsm to 160gsm but generally a paper of about 100gsm to 120gsm will suit best. Generally, a quality letterhead will be printed lithographically onto laser compatible 120gsm smooth white paper.
4. Printing Method: You can print your letterhead through your own desktop printer, but beware, as it can be very costly if you are using a large number of letterheads or have an elaborate design with a great deal of ink coverage. Quality and finish can also be an issue so unless you are only printing a couple of letters or invoices a week it is easier to have your letterhead printed professionally. Once your letterheads have been printed professionally you can of course write on them or over print them as needed, however, in this instance you will be printing small amounts of text usually in black ink only. There are other methods of printing your letterheads including offset lithography and Direct Imaging. You can get details of the differences between both methods of printing by following the link

Eloquent Touch Media can give you a professional design and quality print for your letterheads, business cards, envelops, brochures etc. Contact us 08024444263 or write info@eloquenttouchmedia.com