Guides for business letters
If you write to a German company, the layout is not a matter of taste: paper size, margins and fold marks follow a published standard. These guides explain what matters and why, in English, with the exact measurements.
DIN 5008 explained
What DIN 5008 is, which measurements it defines, what Form A and Form B mean, and what an English-speaking sender needs to know when writing to Germany.
US Letter vs A4
A4 is 210 × 297 mm, US Letter is 8.5 × 11 inches. How the two formats differ, why A4 is taller and narrower, and which one to use for which country.
Window envelopes and the address field
German window envelopes follow DIN 680. Where the window sits, why the address field is 85 mm wide, and how to fold an A4 sheet correctly.
Letterhead layout: what goes where
How a business letterhead is structured: header, address field, reference block, subject line, body, footer and the disclosures required by German commercial law.
Create your letterhead in the browser
The TwiceDocs studio applies the measurements described here automatically: address field, fold marks, 300 DPI PDF export and print-shop bleed. Free, no sign-up, and your data never leaves your browser.