Letter Trays

More About Letter Trays

Letter trays are probably one of the most common desk accessories used by professionals as well as by home users. Not only do letter trays make the desk look tidy but they also help you to organise your documents in a way that makes them quickly accessible and easy to find. Most of letter trays are made of plastic as it is strong enough to hold the weight of paper documents and is available in multiple colour options. Metal or mesh letter trays are also quite a popular choice as they are extremely durable and their design is more suitable for executive and managerial offices. 

Ability to extend the capacity of letter trays by adding additional trays is also a factor appreciated by many users and the vast majority of trays are stackable. Beside letter trays in which the trays are permanently fixed together to create a multi-tier unit, there are two ways of increasing capacity – certain letter trays are self-stackable which means they don’t require any additional accessories and can simply be put on top of each other to form a multi-tier letter tray unit. Most of letter trays however, require special risers (plastic or metal) which make it possible to combine multiple trays together. 

How many letter trays can you stack together? From usability point of view we recommend that for general office needs you stack 3 letter trays together – this way you can organise your documents in a way that the top, open tray is used for incoming documents, the middle tray can hold paperwork that needs to be completed and the bottom tray can accommodate documents that are ready to be sent out or passed on to a different department. If your type of work requires a different way of organising paperwork or you need more than 3 tiers you can consider adding another trays with maximum of 6 trays in one unit. 

When stacking letter trays together it is worth remembering that metal or steel risers are capable of withstanding heavier load, which is often created by multiple paper documents and loose sheets that are stored together. 

What to look at when choosing Letter Trays

• What size letter trays will I need? This is the first thing you need to do when intending to buy letter trays – A4 size is the most popular format as this is the size of paper that’s used in most documents and paperwork. If you operate in office based workplace you are probably also familiar with foolscap size documents which are slightly bigger than A4. Foolscap letter trays are also quite popular and their advantage is that they can hold both sizes (A4 and oversized A4). For anyone who requires larger letter trays, A3 trays are also available. 

• What entry type is the best? It mainly depends on individual preferences and what you find more 
convenient. Standard entry letter trays allow inserting sheets in a vertical position (narrow edge of sheet going into the tray) while wide entry letter trays take documents and sheets inserted horizontally (wide edge of sheet going into trays). 

• How many letter trays do I need? As mentioned above, 3 is the most common amount of letter trays used on office desks, mainly to separate incoming, outgoing and pending paperwork. But as letter trays are generally sold as single units, you can choose as many or as little as you require. 

• What material should I go for? Majority of letter trays is made of plastic – it is lightweight, durable and cost effective; also if you are looking for specific colours, plastic letter trays offer the best variety. Mesh letter trays offer a more premium and elegant look; this is why they are often bought for management and executive offices. Metal letter trays are considered as heavy duty, usually with multiple tiers fixed permanently together, they can hold heavy documents and some models can also be wall mounted for increased stability. .