Guides
Longer answers to the two questions behind most printable paper: how to get a PDF onto paper at exactly the right size, and which grid spacing to choose in the first place.
- How to print at actual sizeThe scale setting to choose in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and Acrobat, how to check a printout with the calibration ruler, and why a printer at 100% can still be about 1% off.
- Graph paper sizes and spacing explainedQuad ruled, engineering and metric squared paper compared, with squares per page, near-miss sizes such as 1/5 in against 5 mm, and grids for scale drawings.
Quick answers
- What size are graph paper squares? US quad-ruled paper has 4 squares per inch (1/4 in); engineering paper has 5 (1/5 in). Metric squared paper is usually 5 mm. With 1/2 in margins, a Letter sheet holds 30 × 40 squares of 1/4 in.
- Why does my graph paper print too small? A "fit" option shrank it into the printer's printable area. With a 1/4 in unprintable margin, a full Letter page prints at 94.1%, so a 4 in ruler comes out 3.76 in. Choose Actual size or 100%.
- Can I print a Letter PDF on A4 paper? Not reliably at true size: Letter is 5.9 mm wider than A4, so depending on the setting the page is either shrunk to 97.3% or cropped at the sides. Make the sheet A4 instead; the generator does any page size.
- How far apart are the lines on college ruled paper? 9/32 in (7.1 mm); wide ruled is 11/32 in (8.7 mm). On a Letter sheet with 1/2 in margins that is 36 lines against 30.
- Is 1/5 in the same as 5 mm? No: 1/5 in is 5.08 mm, 1.6% larger, which adds up to 1.6 mm over 20 squares.
- How do I know the printout is to scale? Measure the calibration bar at the foot of the sheet. It is exactly 4 in on inch paper and 10 cm on metric paper.
Which paper for which job
- Graph paper: Square grids from 1 mm to 1 in, with heavier lines, axes and engineering rulings.
- Dot grid paper: Dots in any pitch for bullet journals, sketching and lettering.
- Isometric paper: Triangle grids and isometric dots for 3D sketches and drawings.
- Hexagon paper: Honeycomb grids for game maps, chemistry rings and quilt planning.
- Lined paper: Wide, college, narrow and Gregg ruling, with or without a margin line.
- Handwriting paper: Top line, dashed midline and baseline, with rows from 3/8 in to 1 in.
- Polar graph paper: Rings and degree rays for polar plots, angles and radial designs.
- Log graph paper: Semi-log and log-log paper with 1 to 6 cycles on each log axis.
How the generator draws each pattern, and the standards behind the page sizes and units, are on the methodology page. New guides are listed in the changelog.