A letter has three bands, decided before anyone places a mark. The header is about one inch to an inch and a half. The body keeps at least an inch at the sides, so a line stays a reading line. The footer is quiet, about three quarters of an inch to an inch. Put a real letter in the frame. If the salutation starts halfway down, the header is too heavy.
The plate labels Header, Body, and Footer on one sheet. The heavy frame swells the header, centres the name, and pushes the salutation to the middle. The measured frame keeps a short header, sets the name on the same left edge as the greeting, and starts “Dear Ada” at the top of the body. A mark added later belongs inside the header, not in a band of its own.
How to check it
- Export the letter at actual size and measure it. Header near one inch to an inch and a half, side margins at least one inch, footer near three quarters of an inch to one inch.
- Find the salutation. It should be the first line of the body. If it sits near the middle of the sheet, the header is occupying space the letter needs.
- Read the footer at arm’s length. It should be present and smaller than the recipient’s name. A footer set as large as the greeting is a second header.
.letter {
box-sizing: border-box;
width: 8.5in;
min-height: 11in;
padding: 1.25in 1in 0.85in;
color: #16150f;
background: #fffdf8;
}
.letter header {
margin-bottom: 0.4in;
padding-bottom: 0.25in;
border-bottom: 1px solid #16150f;
}
.letter p {
margin: 0;
max-width: 65ch;
font: 400 11pt/1.45 Georgia, "Iowan Old Style", serif;
}
.letter footer {
margin-top: 0.75in;
font-size: 9pt;
}