But the A4 format (21 Ox297 mm) should be used in all new work. It has the
advantage of being the same size as nearly all new business literature.
periodicals. etc .. with which it will be sent out. It can hardly be thought
that the old formats are in any way better or more attractive than the new.
When A4 is found to be too large for private use (which is however hard to
justify). A5 (148x21 0 mm) can be used upright or horizontal.
Com'ponent parts of DIN letterheads
Besides the format. there are also standards for the placing of the compo
nent parts of business letterheads. e.g. the size of the space for the firm's
name. and so on.
The authority for all these standards is 01 N sheet 676: we show examples
on the following pages.
Standards exist for:
- The position of the address. on the left. because once the letter has
reached the addressee. it has served its purpose and can therefore be
placed in a relatively unimportant position close to the margin.
- Position for receipt-and treatment-marks (receipt stamp etc.). on the
same level. on the right. This space is more important than the address.
and must be easy to find and read.
- Sequence and position for the four main pieces of information: your ref ..
your letter of. our ref .. date. The advantage of the standard over the pre
vious methods is that these can all be typed in one line (beneath the
headings). Earlier. such information was usually set in a column. requir
ing endless readjustments of the typewriter. The standard avoids this
nicely, in that neither the height of the line nor the beginning of the
treatment-marks is in the way of careful entries. The form also ensures
that these items are not overlooked
- Sequence and position of the firm's particulars: sender's address. tele
graphic address. telephone. business hours. etc. It is a main failing in
most of the old "artistic" letterheads that the visibility and clarity of
these details was sacrificed to the "artistic" effect. In many of the old
letterheads these particulars occupied several long lines: the individual
groups were not clearly distinguished from each other; when looking for
a particular item one had to read through the whole lot. In standardized
headings these items are clearly arranged in specified positions. The
standardization of the sequence is another advantage.
- Side margin of at least 20 mm. In older letterheads this margin was often
ignored. This continued not to be noticed because in those days letters
