Print free lined paper in college ruled, wide ruled, narrow ruled or your own line spacing. Add a red margin line and a name and date line, pick the line color and thickness, and download a PDF for US Letter, A4 or A5. The preview above updates as you change each setting, and you can put up to 10 pages in one PDF.
Lined paper to print (PDF)
These four pages show what the generator prints: college ruled, wide ruled in blue, narrow ruled on A4, and a handwritten thank-you letter as an example. Click a picture for the PDF, or use the generator above to choose another ruling.
What is lined paper?
Lined paper, also called ruled paper, is paper printed with evenly spaced horizontal lines that keep handwriting straight and the same size. In the US it is often called notebook paper, and loose sheets with binder holes are sold as filler paper or loose-leaf paper. The space between two lines is the line spacing (or ruling), and it is the main difference between the types of lined paper.
Lined paper sizes: college, wide and narrow ruled
| Ruling | Line spacing | Lines on US Letter* | Lines on A4* | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wide ruled | 11/32 inch (8.7 mm) | 29 | 31 | Grades 1 to 5, larger handwriting |
| College ruled | 9/32 inch (7.1 mm) | 35 | 38 | Middle school, high school, college, adults |
| Narrow ruled | 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) | 40 | 42 | Small handwriting, fitting more notes |
| 8 mm | 8 mm | 31 | 33 | Common metric ruling for exercise books |
| Extra wide | 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) | 20 | 21 | Early writers, large print, low vision |
*Counted from the PDFs this maker produces, with half-inch margins and no name line. Shop-bought notebook paper usually has a deeper top margin, so it has a few lines fewer.
Not sure which to choose? Our guide to wide ruled vs college ruled paper compares them side by side with a real-size picture.
How many lines per inch?
College ruled paper has about 3.6 lines per inch and wide ruled paper has about 2.9. Narrow ruled paper has exactly 4 lines per inch, and 8 mm ruling has about 3.2.
Options in the lined paper maker
- Line spacing: choose a standard ruling or type your own spacing in millimeters or inches.
- Margin line: a red vertical line on the left, like school notebook paper.
- Name and date line: for homework, tests and classroom handouts.
- Line color: gray, blue, black, green or any color you pick. Light gray lines are the least distracting when you want the writing to stand out.
- Line thickness: light, medium or bold. Bold lines help children and people with low vision see the lines clearly.
- Paper: US Letter, A4 or A5, portrait or landscape, 1 to 10 pages.
Ways to use printable lined paper
- School: spelling tests, journal writing, essays and copying out notes.
- Letter writing: print light gray lines on good paper for a neat handwritten letter or thank-you note.
- Handwriting practice: for younger children, use handwriting paper with a dashed midline instead, because it shows where tall and short letters stop.
- Planners and lists: print A5 pages and punch them for a ring binder or planner.
- Art and crafts: ruled backgrounds for scrapbooks and bulletin boards.
Ruled paper example: a thank-you letter
The filled example above is a short letter written on college ruled sheets with a red margin line. The date goes at the top right, the greeting is on its own line, the message follows, and the closing sits to the right. Using the margin line keeps the left edge of the paragraphs straight. A letter like this takes 8 to 10 lines, which is about a quarter of the page.
How much writing fits on ruled paper?
The ruling changes how much text fits on a page. These are estimates for ordinary handwriting, so use them for planning, not as hard limits:
| Ruling | Lines on a Letter page | Words per line (average handwriting) | Words on a full page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide ruled | 29 | 7 to 9 | 200 to 260 |
| College ruled | 35 | 9 to 11 | 315 to 385 |
| Narrow ruled | 40 | 10 to 12 | 400 to 480 |
A one-page essay of 300 words needs about one full sheet of college ruled paper. Young writers who write bigger need two pages of wide ruled paper for the same length.
Lined paper vs graph paper
Lined paper has only horizontal lines, so it is best for writing. Graph paper has a full grid of squares, which is better for math, charts and drawing to scale. Dot grid paper sits in between: the dots guide your writing without boxing it in. See dot grid paper for bullet journal pages.
How to print lined paper
- Choose the ruling, color and extras above.
- Pick US Letter in the US and Canada, or A4 in most other countries.
- Click Download PDF and print at 100% or “Actual size”, so the line spacing is not shrunk.
- For a notebook, set 10 pages and print double-sided, then hole-punch or staple the sheets.
Frequently asked questions
8 quick answers
What is lined paper called?
Lined paper is also called ruled paper, notebook paper, writing paper, filler paper and loose-leaf paper. The ruling name tells you the line spacing: wide ruled, college ruled or narrow ruled.
What size is lined paper?
In the US and Canada, lined paper is usually US Letter, 8.5 x 11 inches. Most other countries use A4, 210 x 297 mm, from the ISO 216 paper size standard. This maker also makes A5 (148 x 210 mm), which fits many planners.
Is lined paper the same as filler paper?
Filler paper is loose lined paper with binder holes, sold to “fill” a ring binder. So filler paper is a kind of lined paper. The paper you print here has no holes, so punch it if you want it in a binder.
What is standard lined paper?
In US schools, the most common ruling is college ruled (9/32 inch). Young children usually start on wide ruled paper (11/32 inch). In countries that use A4, 8 mm ruling is common.
Can I print lined paper on my printer?
Yes. Download the PDF and print it on plain printer paper at 100% scale. Any home or office printer works because the lines are simple and thin.
How do I make lined paper in Word or Google Docs?
You can add a table with only horizontal borders or turn on paragraph borders, but it is slow to get even spacing. It is quicker to make the page here, download the PDF and print it.
Can I change the color of the lines?
Yes. Pick gray, blue, black or green, or choose “Custom” and select any color. You can also change the line thickness.
Is this lined paper free?
Yes. It is free to print for home, school and classroom use, with no sign-up.
More printable paper
- Dot grid paper for bullet journals.
- Graph paper in quarter inch, 5 mm and 1 cm squares.
- Handwriting paper for kindergarten with red and blue lines.
- Printable paper maker for every paper type.