Videos/Business letter according to DIN 5008
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Foreword
The video "Geschäftsbrief nach DIN 5008 in Writer - LibreOffice" (in German) links to this page here, which contains further information and details.
Corporate Identity
For companies, organisations, authorities etc. it is important how they are perceived from the outside.
This is collectively referred to as corporate identity.
See also: Corporate_Identity
Corporate Design
Corporate design is a part of corporate identity and includes the appearance of the company/organisation.
This also includes the business letters/paperwork.
See also: Brand
The DIN 5008 standard applies to business letters/paperwork.
Business letter according to DIN 5008
The creation of a Business letter according to DIN_5008 as a document template requires great effort in implementation.
The arrangement and possible variations in the letter parts for address and sender are quite complex.
Special attention must be paid to the entire page layout with the company logo and the corresponding lettering.
The video and the following descriptions are intended to help you create your own letter template for "Business letter according to DIN 5008".
Within these descriptions there are links to Wikipedia, which provide additional information.
Special feature
In the typewriter world, the fields for address and sender were based on the existing line feed.
In Writer, the entire area for address and sender is defined as a margin area, so that no continuous text is possible here.
The fields for address and sender are defined by frames.
Link to the video
Link to the video (in German [DE]):
Geschäftsbrief nach DIN 5008 in Writer - LibreOffice
Page / Sheet - Layout / Business letter according to DIN 5008
Letter-Forms
for private letters
Distance to the upper edge: 0,27 cm.
for business letters
At a distance of 0.45 cm from the top edge of the sheet the address field begins and at 9.84 (9.846 cm) cm the text field begins.
Page / Paper Format
For normal business correspondence, DIN 5008 specifies the Paper size:
Click
▸ menu.For "Page|Paper Format": (DIN) A4
width: 21,00 cm,
height: 29,70 cm,
paper quality should be at least 80 g/m2.
Excluded from this are short letters and other special forms.
Letterhead / -paper
Stationery: blank, usually white
Letterhead: Letterhead partially pre-printed or pre-printed, usually white with colour printing.
Margins
Left: 2,50 cm,
Specification according to DIN 5008: 2.41 cm. In many cases, the DIN 5008 specification is rounded up to 2.50 cm.
In any case, the dimensions according to DIN 5008 should not be fallen short of in order to ensure a clean Hole punching of the letterhead.
Right: 1,00 cm to 2,00 cm,
The value results from practical use.
If the value is reduced, check to what extent the printer can print to the outside right.
For aesthetic reasons, values below 1.00 cm should not be used.
Top: 9,84 cm,
For business letters, the company logo, the company lettering, as well as the address field and the info block are placed in the upper area.
The upper margin is thus set so that the text area begins directly below it.
Bottom: 1,00 cm to 2,00 cm.
Here it must be taken into account whether a pre-printed letterhead or blank paper is used.
The company data is entered directly above the margin to be considered.
For aesthetic reasons, no values below 1.00 cm should be used.
Possible letterhead design
Basic possibilities
- Text field only
- Text field and graphic
- Graphics only
- - none - (remains blank), i.e. pre-printed stationery is used
Create letterhead / page header
The page header in the design as a graphic with text usually contains a logo and the company's lettering.
For our exercise, we insert a frame in the page header.
Frame for page header
From the menu, choose
▸ ▸ .Tab "Type":
Size
Width: 16,50 cm, Height: 3,50 cm
Position
Horizontal From Left: 2,50 cm to Entire page,
Vertical From Top: 1,00 cm to Entire page
Anchor
Tab "Options":
For the function Protect we set a check mark at
Tab "Wrap":
Settings
Through
Spacing
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Tab "Borders":
Line Arrangement
"Presets: Set No Borders"
Padding
Left: 0,15 cm; Right 0,15 cm; Top: 0,15 cm; Bottom: 0,15 cm.
Insert logo
We insert a prefabricated logo.
In our example we use the file "Häuser-Reihe_02.png", see below Work files.
We click on Insert Image and select the file.
The graphic will not fit immediately.
We double-click on the graphic and enter:
Image: Houses
Tab "Type":
Size
Width: 13,00 cm, Height: 2,18 cm
Position
Horizontal From Left: 2,65 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: 1,65 cm to Entire page
Anchor
Tab "Options":
For the function Protect we set a check mark at
Tab "Wrap":
Settings
Through
Spacing
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Tab "Borders":
Line Arrangement
"Preset: Set No Borders"
Padding
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Frame as Text field in the page header
From the menu, choose
▸ ▸ .Tab "Type":
Size
Width: 2,20 cm, Height: 2,20 cm
Position
Horizontal From Left: 16,65 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: 1,65 cm to Entire page
Anchor
Tab "Options":
For the function Protect we set a check mark at
Tab "Wrap":
Settings
Through
Spacing
Left: 0,20 cm; Right 0,20 cm; Top: 0,20 cm; Bottom: 0,20 cm.
Tab "Borders":
Line arrangement
"Preset: Set No Borders"
Padding
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Address field
Overview
Return information 1)
Additional and note zone
Recipient address
Address field frame
From the menu, choose
▸ ▸ .Tab "Type":
Size
Width: 8,50 cm, Height: 4,50 cm ( resp. 4,00 cm + 0,50 cm )
Position
Horizontal From Left: (2,41 cm) 2,50 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: 4,50 cm to Entire page
Anchor
Tab "Options":
For the function Protect we set a check mark at
Tab "Wrap":
Settings
Through
Spacing
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Tab "Borders":
Line Arrangement
"Presets: Set No Borders"
Padding
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Return information ( Return address ) 1)
One line, height: max. 0,50 cm,
Font size 6 - 8 resp. 7 - 9 pt,
The return information usually contains in short form:
- Company / First Name Last Name
- Street / P.O. Box
- Postal Code City
with an underline
Addition and Note Zone
Examples:
- Registered mail
- Book shipment
- Goods shipment
- Personal
- If undeliverable, please return with new address
Address
The address can look very different. See examples 1 - 3 on the right.
When designing your own business letter, look at business letters from other partners to make your choice.
Addressing letters correctly
Weblinks: Korrekte Adressierung|Wikipedia
Font size for the address
Font size at least 8 pt, from 10 pt with serifs possible, otherwise use e.g. Liberation Sans.
Information block
Overview
Conversation partner: Department: * telephone: telefax: E-Mail: * Date:
Information block frame
From the menu, choose
▸ ▸ .Tab "Type":
Size
Width: 7,50 cm, Height: 5,00 cm
Position
Horizontal From Left: 12,50 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: 5,00 cm to Entire page
Anchor
Tab "Options":
For the function Protect we set a check mark at
Tab "Wrap":
Settings
Through
Spacing
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Tab "Borders":
Line Arrangement
"Presets: Set No Borders"
Padding
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Date
The year should always be written with four digits.
The international notation provides for the sequence YEAR-MONTH-DAY. (see also ISO 8601).
Example for the notations:
- 2018-04-25
Font size for the information block
Font size at least 8pt, from 10pt with serifs possible, otherwise use e.g. Liberation Sans.
Text area
Structure of the text area
- Subject line
- Salutation
- Letter text
- Greeting
- Signature
- Enclosure(s)
Example: Overview text area
Our top offer just for you - fresh tomatoes from Italy * * Dear Sir or Madam, * we are pleased to present a top offer just for you. From the new harvest 2018 we offer you fresh tomatoes from Italy. Please see the attached price list for prices. Only for you, minus 5% discount. The offer is limited until 31 August. We will be happy to take your order. You can find out about other products from Italy in our enclosed flyer. Call us if you need any help. * Kind regards * * * Guiseppe Italiano * Attachments Price list for large customers Our current flyer with more products from Italy
Subject line
The subject line, e.g. "Our top offer only for you - fresh tomatoes from Italy, is created below the address field.
The word "subject" or similar is no longer used, it is omitted.
The subject line does not have a full stop at the end, etc. Usually the subject line is highlighted in bold.
The salutation
The salutation, e.g. "Dear Sir or Madam," is two lines apart from the subject line.
The actual text of the letter
Insert a blank line after the salutation and then we can write our text.
Font size for the text area
Font size at least 10pt to 12 pt with serifs possible, otherwise use e.g. Liberation Sans.
Greetings
With a blank line to the text, we write the greeting formula, e.g.:
- "Kind regards"
- "Kind regards from Milano"
- "Kind regards and have a nice weekend"
Signature
After the greeting, we (usually) leave three lines of space for the signature.
After that, the signature can be inserted in typescript, as not everyone necessarily has a legible signature.
Kind regards * * * Guiseppe Italiano
Attachment(s)
Example:
Kind regards * * * Guiseppe Italiano * Attachments Price list for large customers Our current flyer with more products from Italy
Font size for the greeting
Font size at least 10pt to 12 pt with serifs possible, but as in the text area, otherwise use e.g. Liberation Sans.
According to DIN 5008, there are no specifications for the bottom margin or the footer height.
You may need to adjust the bottom margin.
The footer should contain all important company data and mandatory information:
- Name of the company
- Legal form
- Registered office
- Name of the managing director / members of the board of directors / supervisory board
- Registry court
- Bank details
- Value added tax identification number
- Possible supervisory authority
- etc.
From the menu, choose
▸ ▸ .Tab "Type":
Size
Width: 16,50 cm, Height: 1,00 cm
Position
Horizontal From Left: 2,50 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: 27,70 cm to Entire page
Anchor
Tab "Options":
For the function Protect we set a check mark at
Tab "Wrap":
Settings
Through
Spacing
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Tab "Borders":
Line Arrangement
"Presets: Set No Borders"
Padding
Left: 0,00 cm; Right 0,00 cm; Top: 0,00 cm; Bottom: 0,00 cm.
Folding and perforation stamps for envelope DIN lang
Envelope
An Envelope is the packaging of a letter.
Hole and folding marks (also folding marks) are used to prepare the Letterhead DIN A4 for a double cross fold.
After folding, the letterhead is usually placed in a window envelope (if the address field is correctly positioned). DIN lang.
Folding mark_1
Right-click the line and select "Position and Size" from the context menu.
Position and size
Width: 0,50 cm, Height: 0,04 cm
Horizontal from left: to 0,40 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: to 10,50 cm to Entire page
Hole mark
Right-click the line and select "Position and Size" from the context menu.
Position and Size
Width: 0,50 cm, Height: 0,04 cm
Horizontal from left: to 0,40 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: to 14,85 cmto Entire page
Folding mark_2
Right-click the line and select "Position and Size" from the context menu.
Position and Size
Width: 0,30 cm, Height: 0,04 cm
Horizontal from left: to 0,60 cm to Entire page, Vertical From Top: to 21,00 cm to Entire page (or from below: to 8,70 cm).
Further Informations
Work files
Geschäftsbrief nach DIN 5008_V3 - to the video
Geschäftsbrief nach DIN 5008_V3 - with 2nd side
Geschäftsbrief 5008 - SCHLAU+BAUER_V3 - prefilled
Values in the dialog boxes - Geschäftsbrief nach DIN 5008_V3
Compatibility
A letterhead created in LibreOffice with inserted frames is not suitable for transfer to MS-Word or saving as a doc/docx file.
Change pages
If page 1 of a letter is not enough, continuation pages are needed.
For this purpose it is necessary to make a page 2-ff.
This page 2 is typically created with a corresponding style sheet (page template) so that the enlarged top margin of page 1 is not adopted when the page is changed.
For this purpose, a new page template for page 2 ff. must be created, deviating from the standard page template.
Detailed descriptions of page formatting can be found here:
More sources
in German
Schreib- und Gestaltungsregeln
Documentation / Manuals
Here you will find the Documentation / Manuals:
Any questions?
For questions on this topic go to:
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