Branding assets
What this page is — the images Papers stores for documents, and an honest account of which of them actually reach a finalized PDF today.
What it is for — so every document your organisation issues carries its letterhead, without anyone pasting a logo into a template.
The problem it solves — logos pasted into templates by hand go out stale, misaligned or missing.
Route: /org/settings?tab=papers → Branding · Permissions: Manage org letterheads, seals, watermarks and numbering sequences. for
organisation assets; Manage the project's branding-asset overrides (requires open branding lock). for project assets while the branding lock
is open.
1. What it is
Five asset kinds can be uploaded. Only two can reach a document, and only one does without extra configuration no screen offers:
| Asset | Reaches the PDF? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Letterhead | Yes | Full width above the body. The default letterhead is used automatically |
| Seal / Stamp | Only if a type binds it | Right-aligned below the body, about 24 mm tall. No screen currently binds one |
| Watermark | No | The printed watermark is text, not this image |
| Logo | No | Stored for future use |
| Signature image | No | Signatures come from the signing ceremony |
The watermark you see on a confidential document is the text CONFIDENTIAL, rotated across each page.
How a letterhead is chosen for a document:
| Order | Source |
|---|---|
| 1 | A letterhead bound on the type's version |
| 2 | A letterhead bound in the type's behaviour |
| 3 | The default letterhead — the project's own if its branding lock is open and it has one, else the organisation's |
In practice, with no binding screen, step 3 is how every document gets its letterhead.
2. Why you would use it
- Every document is on brand with no template work. One default letterhead, every finalized PDF.
- A subsidiary can issue under its own identity. Unlock branding for its project and mark its letterhead default.
- Upload once, reuse from the asset library. Images already in Digital Assets can be picked instead of uploaded again.
- Honest labels prevent wasted effort. The upload drawer marks which kinds render and which are stored only.
3. Step by step
- + Add asset.
- Name it and pick the type.
- Upload a file, or pick one from Digital Assets.
- Tick default if this should be used automatically.
- Choose Applies to — organisation, or a project with an open branding lock.
- Save.
To change the default later, press the star on another asset of the same type.
4. Field reference
| Field | Rules | Refusal |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Required | name is required |
| Type | Letterhead, Seal / Stamp, Watermark, Logo, Signature Image | invalid asset_type "x": must be one of letterhead, seal, watermark, signature_image, logo |
| File | PNG, JPG, JPEG, WebP or SVG; 5 MB max | file exceeds the 5 MB limit · the uploaded file is empty · that file is not a valid image: use png, jpg, jpeg, webp or svg |
| SVG | Letterhead and logo only; the file is validated | that file is not a valid SVG image |
| Conversion | PNG and JPEG are converted to WebP on upload | — |
| Default | One per type; setting it demotes the previous default | — |
Recommended sizes
| Asset | Size | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Letterhead | 1600–2000 px wide; a 4:1 banner is typical | Scaled to the full 174 mm content width of an A4 page |
| Seal | About 300 × 300 px, square | Rendered at a fixed 90 px (~24 mm) height, so a wide image overhangs |
| Logo | About 600 px wide | Stored only |
| Signature image | About 600 × 200 px, transparent | Stored only |
5. Worked example
A brand manager prepares branding for the group and its retail subsidiary.
- Uploads Group letterhead — a 1,800 × 450 px PNG, which becomes WebP — and ticks default. The next finalized document carries it.
- Uploads Company seal and stars it. Nothing changes on documents; the drawer's caveat explained why, and the manager leaves the seal out for now.
- Tries a 7 MB TIFF scan of the old letterhead: file exceeds the 5 MB limit. Exports it to PNG under 2 MB.
- In the Contoso Retail project, with branding unlocked, uploads Contoso letterhead as that project's default. Contoso's PDFs switch; every other project keeps the group letterhead.
6. The admin contract
| Must be true | Where | What breaks without it |
|---|---|---|
| A default letterhead exists | This screen | PDFs render with no letterhead |
| The branding lock is open, for project letterheads | Override locks | Project uploads are refused, and project defaults ignored |
| The role holds the branding permission | Role editor | No Add asset |
| Images meet the size guidance | Your design team | Letterheads pixelate; seals overhang |
7. Downstream
| When you… | Then |
|---|---|
| Change the default letterhead | Every document finalized from now on uses it; sealed PDFs keep theirs |
| Delete an asset | Future renders drop it silently; sealed PDFs are unchanged |
| Relock project branding | The project's documents revert to the organisation letterhead |
8. Don't confuse this with…
| Behaviour settings | Confidentiality there decides the text watermark |
| Experience Manager | Branding for customer-facing sites and portals |
| Template builder | The document body. Branding wraps around it |
9. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| No letterhead on PDFs | No default letterhead, or the project's lock is closed and the organisation has none |
| An uploaded seal never appears | No screen binds a seal to a type |
| The watermark image is ignored | Watermarks are text; the image is never rendered |
| SVG refused for a seal | SVG is accepted for letterhead and logo only |
| A project letterhead is ignored | The project's branding lock is closed |
| The letterhead looks blurred | It is narrower than ~1,600 px |