A 5 mm grid that measures 5 mm
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Notes & writing
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— mm
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Prints a measured strip. If a ruler disagrees with it, your printer is scaling the page.
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1:1 detail · 62 × 40 mm
Drawn in real millimeters. Hold a ruler to the screen — if it disagrees, your display's reported DPI is wrong, not the PDF.
Printable lined paper, to exact spec
Wide ruled, college ruled, narrow ruled — none of these are standards. They are names, and the actual spacing behind them varies by manufacturer and by country. If you've ever printed college ruled paper and found it didn't match the notebook you were trying to match, that's why.
So this generates lined paper from a number instead. Measure the notebook you want to match, type the millimeters in, print. For reference: narrow ruled is about 6.35mm, college ruled about 7.1mm, and wide ruled about 8.7mm. European exercise books are usually specified outright, most often at 8mm.
The red margin line is the traditional US notebook detail, sitting about an eighth of the way across to leave room for hole punches. It's optional.
For young children learning letterforms, the handwriting paper is the better starting point — it adds a dashed midline to aim at.
The ruling names are not measurements
There is no standards body for notebook ruling. The US conventions are narrow ruled at 1/4 inch (6.35mm), college or medium ruled at 9/32 inch (7.1mm), and wide or legal ruled at 11/32 inch (8.7mm).
College and wide are about a millimeter and a half apart, closer than the names suggest.
Manufacturers vary around those figures. UK and European exercise books are usually specified in millimeters instead, most often 8mm. French Seyes ruling is a system of horizontals and verticals rather than a single spacing. German Lineatur is numbered, and the number covers both the ruling and the school year.
Measuring a notebook
Measure across ten line spacings, from the top edge of one line to the top edge of the line ten below, then divide by ten. Measuring a single gap with a millimeter ruler will be half a millimeter out, which drifts visibly down a page.
Print one page and check it against the notebook before printing more.
Line count follows from spacing and page size. An A4 sheet at 8mm holds about 33 lines depending on the margin; at 7mm, about 38.
The margin line
The red vertical rule sits about an eighth of the way across. It marks the margin and keeps writing clear of a three-hole punch.
If you are punching the sheets, punch one first. US three-hole, UK two-hole and the four-hole A4 standard sit at different positions, so check where your punch lands before printing a stack.
Frequently asked questions
College ruled vs wide ruled?
About 7.1mm and 8.7mm — 9/32 and 11/32 of an inch. Much closer together than the names suggest, and neither is an actual standard, so measure a notebook you like rather than trusting the label.
What's the red line for?
Tradition, mostly. It marks the margin. Turn it off if you don't want it.
Handwriting practice for young children?
Use the handwriting paper instead — it has a dashed midline to aim at.