Lined Paper
Lined paper is a page of evenly spaced horizontal lines, usually with a top margin and a red margin line down the left. Pick a ruling (wide, college, narrow or Seyès) or your own spacing, and the sheet is drawn for your paper size. The default is college ruled, 7.1 mm between lines.
Your sheet
Printing: choose Actual size or 100%, not “Fit to page”, so 1 cm prints as 1 cm. How to check.
How are the lines spaced?
Lines = whole part of (page height − top margin − 12 mm) ÷ spacing, plus one. The first line sits at the top margin; the last stays at least 12 mm from the foot of the page.
Worked example. College ruled (7.1 mm) on A4 with a 25 mm top margin: (297 − 25 − 12) ÷ 7.1 = 36.6, so 36 gaps and 37 lines. Wide ruled (8.7 mm) on the same page gives 30 lines.
The rulings in inches: wide 11/32 in, college 9/32 in, narrow 1/4 in. Wide and college are converted at 25.4 mm to the inch and rounded to a tenth of a millimetre; narrow is exactly 6.35 mm.
Which ruling should I use?
Wide ruled for children up to about 9, and for anyone with large handwriting. College ruled for secondary school, college and most adults. Narrow ruled when you want the most words per page. If you take notes with a fine pen, try a custom 6 mm.
Lined paper for exams and essays
Many exams give candidates lined answer paper at about 8 mm. Practising on the same spacing teaches you how much fits on a page and how long an answer really is. Set the spacing to 8 mm and the top margin to 20 mm to get close.
Lined paper for letters and journals
A letter looks better on wider spacing (9 to 10 mm) with no margin line. For a journal, keep the margin line: a column for dates and marks keeps entries tidy. For a two-sided notebook, print a left-margin sheet and a right-margin sheet (set the margin line to the page width minus 32 mm) and alternate them.
Questions about lined paper
What is the difference between wide ruled and college ruled paper?
The spacing between lines. Wide ruled is 8.7 mm (11/32 inch) and is used by younger children; college ruled is 7.1 mm (9/32 inch) and fits more writing on a page. Narrow ruled is 6.35 mm (1/4 inch).
How many lines are on a page?
It depends on the ruling and the top margin. College ruled on A4 with a 25 mm top margin gives 37 lines; wide ruled gives 30. US Letter is shorter, so a few fewer.
What is the red line for?
It is the margin, about 32 mm from the left edge on most pads. Teachers mark in it and writers leave it clear. Set it to 0 to leave it out, or move it to the right-hand side by typing a larger number.
Can I make lined paper for handwriting practice?
For plain writing, yes: pick a wider spacing such as 12 or 15 mm. For the three-line primary style with a dashed middle line, use the handwriting paper maker instead.
What is Seyès ruling?
The French school ruling: a heavy line every 8 mm with three light lines in between, used to size letters. Here the Seyès option gives the 8 mm spacing; the light lines are not drawn.
Can I print lined paper on both sides?
Yes. The lines run across the whole width and the top margin is the same on every page, so the two sides line up. Use paper of at least 80 gsm so the ink does not show through.