Your Designer Sent a PDF Letterhead. Here’s How to Use It in Word
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The rebrand is done, the letterhead looks perfect — and it’s a PDF. Here’s how to get it into Word without wrecking the design.
Why you can’t just open the PDF in Word
Word converts any PDF you open into an editable document — on a Mac it even has to send your PDF through Microsoft’s online converter first. The rebuild swaps your brand fonts for whatever happens to be installed and shifts the layout your designer spent hours balancing. Free converter sites fail the same way — on a server you know nothing about.
What actually works
Real letterhead in Word is a locked, full-page image in the document header: it repeats on every page, prints at full strength, and can’t be clicked, moved, or deleted while anyone types. That’s exactly the file WordLetterhead builds from the PDF — or PNG, or JPG — your designer sent:
- Upload the file your designer sent.
- Set the typing area — it becomes the Word margins.
- Download your .docx and start typing.
About two minutes. No account, no design software.
Compare your options
| Design intact | Every page | Locked while typing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open the PDF in Word | No | No | No |
| Free converter site | No | No | No |
| WordLetterhead | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Common questions
- Will it print correctly?
- Yes — header artwork prints by default. Word dims it slightly on screen while you type; the printed page comes out at full strength.
- Does the letterhead repeat on every page?
- Yes. The artwork is anchored in the header, so page 50 looks exactly like page 1.
- What if the designer sent a JPG or PNG?
- Works the same — upload it directly. For crisp printing you want about 300 DPI (roughly 2550 × 3300 pixels for US Letter).
- What happens to my file?
- The preview renders locally in your browser — your file isn’t uploaded. If you buy the clean file, only the rendered artwork is sent up; the .docx is assembled in memory and never stored. No account required.