Dot Grid Paper
Dot grid paper in any pitch, from 5 mm bullet-journal dots to a 1/4 in sketching grid, on Letter, A4, A5 or a custom sheet. Make every fifth dot bigger, change the dot size and colour, and download a vector PDF that prints at true size.
Preview and download
Scaled-down preview; the printout is full size. Dashed lines show the margins and don’t print.
Print at 100% or Actual size, not “Fit to page”. Then check the ruler at the foot of the sheet: it should measure exactly 4 in.
- Sheet
- Letter, 8.5 × 11 in, portrait
- Pattern
- 31 × 41 dots
- Ruler
- 4 in, in the bottom margin
- 1 page, vector, no watermark
Paper
Dots
Dots and colour
Margins
From each paper edge to the pattern. Most printers can’t print the outer 0.2 in or so of a sheet.
Header and mixed pages
Pages and printing
How to make dot grid paper
- Set the dot spacing. 5 mm for journals and planners, 1/4 in or 1/5 in for US Letter pages, 1 cm for children's maths. Any value from 1 mm to 6 in works.
- Set the page. A5 for notebook inserts, A4 or Letter for loose sheets, or a custom size for a planner. Each dot sits on a grid point, and the grid is centred between the margins.
- Size the dots. Dot size is the diameter in points (1 pt is 1/72 in, about 0.35 mm). Grey dots between 1 and 2 pt are a good starting point. "Bigger dot every" enlarges every 5th or 10th dot to help you count.
- Download or print. Print at 100% so the pitch is right, and check the ruler. On A5 with narrow margins the ruler moves inside the page area; turn it off once you trust your printer.
Common dot spacings
Dot grid is the grid of graph paper with only the crossings marked, so it uses the same spacings. 5 mm is the pitch of the dotted A5 notebooks sold for bullet journals and planners. US printable pages often use 1/4 in. The counts below are dots across × down, worked out by the generator itself:
| Spacing and page | Dots |
|---|---|
| 5 mm, A5 journal insert (8 mm margins) | 27 × 38 |
| 5 mm, A4 (10 mm margins) | 39 × 55 |
| 5 mm, Letter (1/2 in margins) | 39 × 51 |
| 1/5 in, Letter (1/2 in margins) | 38 × 51 |
| 1/4 in, Letter (1/2 in margins) | 31 × 41 |
| 1 cm, A4 (10 mm margins) | 20 × 28 |
A row of N squares has N + 1 dots, so these are one more each way than the matching graph paper.
What dot grid is good for
- Bullet journals and planners. Monthly calendars, habit trackers and weekly spreads drawn with a ruler from dot to dot. An A5 page with 8 mm margins holds 27 × 38 dots at 5 mm, a full-size insert for an A5 notebook or binder.
- Hand lettering and calligraphy. Count dots for the x-height and the ascenders and keep letter widths even; the dots don't fight with the strokes the way grid lines do.
- Sketching interfaces and diagrams. App screens, wireframes, flowcharts and circuit layouts line up on the dots and stay tidy without a ruler.
- Maths on a lattice. Polygons with corners on dots, area by counting, reflections and translations, and the lattice area formula (area = dots inside + dots on the edge ÷ 2 − 1, in squares) all work on 1 cm or 1/2 in dot paper. For 3D shapes, use isometric dot paper.
- Drawing and design. Product sketches, embroidery and quilting motifs, and pixel-style art laid out on dots.
Making notebook inserts
Check the notebook's page size and its dot pitch with a ruler before you print a batch. A5 is 148 × 210 mm; for anything else use a custom page size. Names can mislead: B5 is 176 × 250 mm in the ISO series but 182 × 257 mm in the Japanese JIS series, so measure rather than trust the label. Print one page at Actual size, hold it against a notebook page to the light and check that the dots coincide before printing the rest. If your printer can't take A5 paper, print on A4 or Letter and trim; the printing guide explains why scaling options such as "2 pages per sheet" break the pitch.
For a page that mixes dots with something else, use Layout: dots with a lined column for notes, or dots above and a blank box below for a sketch. A header adds labelled lines for a title and date.
Frequently asked questions
What dot spacing do bullet journals use?
5 mm. It is the dot pitch of the A5 dotted notebooks many journals are kept in, so 5 mm pages printed here line up with the notebook's own. 1/5 in looks almost the same but is 5.08 mm, so a 1/5 in grid drifts 1.6 mm away from a 5 mm one every 100 mm; for inserts, stick to 5 mm.
How big should the dots be?
Small enough to disappear under ink. The generator starts at 1.6 pt across (about 0.56 mm) in grey, and 1.4 pt (0.49 mm) is a good lighter choice for journal pages. Go lighter or smaller for brush lettering, darker or bigger if your printer renders tiny dots faintly. A bigger dot every 5 dots (2.6 pt) makes counting squares for calendars and trackers quicker.
Can I print A5 dot grid pages on A4 or Letter paper?
Yes. Make the sheet A5, print the PDF at Actual size on A4 or Letter, and trim it to 148 × 210 mm. The grid is centred on the A5 page as long as the ruler sits in the bottom margin (11 mm or more) or is turned off, so trim the same distance outside it on each side. Don't use "2 pages per sheet" or "Fit to page": both shrink the page, and the dots no longer match a 5 mm notebook.
Should I use dot grid or graph paper?
Dot grid when the page is mostly writing or drawing that needs a guide: the dots keep lines straight and boxes square without competing with what you put on top. Graph paper when the squares themselves matter, as in plotting, scale drawings and charts you count square by square.
Will the dots line up if I print on both sides?
With equal left and right margins the grid is symmetrical about the middle of the sheet, so the front and back land on the same positions as closely as your printer's duplex registration allows. Print one test sheet and hold it to the light to see how close yours gets. If you set a wider inner margin for binding, the back page needs the mirror-image margins.