Dot grid paper
Print at 100%. In the print dialog choose Actual size (or Scale: 100), not Fit to page. Then hold a ruler to the line at the bottom of the sheet.
How to print at actual size, dialog by dialog
- Chrome and Edge: open More settings, find Scale, and pick Actual size if it is listed. If it is not, pick Custom and type 100. Avoid Fit to printable area and Fit to paper.
- Firefox: untick Fit to page width, then set Scale to 100.
- Safari and Preview on a Mac: set Scale to 100%, not Scale to Fit.
- Adobe Acrobat and Reader: under Page Sizing, choose Actual size. The file already asks for it.
- iPhone and iPad: the print sheet has no scale setting. Print, then measure the line.
- Android: this depends on the printer app. Turn off any Fit to page option, then measure the line.
- Any browser: pick the file that matches the paper in your printer. A US Letter file on A4 paper, or the reverse, gets shrunk to fit.
Printable dot grid paper: a small dot at every point where the lines of a square grid would cross, and no lines at all. The dots give you something to align to without putting a grid behind everything you write or draw. On A4 the default spacing is 5 mm, 40 dots across and 55 down, 2,200 in all. On US Letter it is 1/4 inch, 33 across and 41 down, 1,353 dots.
Set the spacing, the dot size and the color above. The PDF places every dot at its exact position, so the rows stay straight across the whole page.
What dot grid paper is for
- Bullet journals and planners. Dots mark the rows and columns for calendars, lists and trackers, and fade into the background once the page is filled in.
- Hand lettering. The dots set baselines and letter heights without lines running through the letters.
- Sketching and wireframes. Screen layouts, diagrams and charts drawn freehand keep their edges straight.
- Math and patterns. Dot paper is used for drawing shapes by joining dots, and for designs that need a grid without the grid showing.
Dot spacing and size
Spacing is the distance from one dot to the next, along a row or a column. The two common choices are 5 mm, the spacing of most dotted notebooks, and 1/4 inch. Anything from 3 mm up can be set; closer than that, the dots start to read as a gray tone rather than points.
Dot size follows the line weight setting. Fine makes dots 0.9 point across, Standard 1.2 point, Bold 1.8 point, where a point is 1/72 inch. Standard is about 0.4 mm, clear on the page but small enough to disappear under ink. Gray dots are the least visible, black the most.
Dots or lines
Dots are for pages you will fill: the finished page is mostly your writing, with the grid barely there. Lines are for pages you will measure from, such as plots and plans, where you need to follow a line across the sheet. If you need lines, the graph paper page draws the same grid with lines, and isometric graph paper has a dot version for triangle grids.
Print it at 100%
Light gray dots are the first thing a printer drops. Draft mode, toner saving and some eco settings print light colors so faintly that small dots vanish. If yours come out patchy, choose Bold and Black, or turn draft mode off.
For the spacing to be what you chose, the page must not be scaled. In Chrome and Edge, open More settings and set Scale to Actual size, or to Custom and 100. In Safari or Preview set Scale to 100%. Turn off Fit to page anywhere you see it, and print the Letter file on Letter paper and the A4 file on A4.
Check it with the line
The line at the bottom of the sheet is exactly 4 inches long on inch sheets and exactly 10 cm long on metric sheets.
| The 4 in line measures | The 10 cm line measures | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 4 in, within about 1/32 in | 100 mm, within about 0.5 mm | Printed at actual size. |
| about 3 7/8 in (3.89 in) | about 97.3 mm | A US Letter file was shrunk to fit A4 paper. |
| about 3 3/4 in (3.76 in) | about 94.1 mm | An A4 file was shrunk to fit US Letter paper. |
| about 3.8 to 3.9 in | about 95 to 97 mm | Fit to printable area or Fit to page was on. |
| about 4 1/16 to 4 1/8 in | about 102 to 103 mm | Borderless printing enlarged the page. |
On a 5 mm sheet, 21 dots span the 10 cm line from end to end. On a 1/4 inch sheet, 17 dots span the 4 inch line.
Other sheets
The same generator draws square graph paper in any size, including 1/4 inch, 1 cm and 5 mm, and isometric graph paper with lines or dots.
Frequently asked questions
What spacing is standard for dot grid paper?
5 mm is the most common, and it is the spacing of most dotted journals. In the US, 1/4 inch is also common. Both are set in one click under Spacing.
How big are the dots?
About 0.4 mm across at the Standard setting, 1.2 point. Fine makes them 0.9 point and Bold 1.8 point. They are drawn as real circles in the PDF, so they print round at any size.
Why do some dots disappear when I print?
Small gray dots are the first thing to fade in draft mode, toner saving or eco printing. Switch to Bold and Black, or print at normal quality.
Can I use it in a note-taking app?
Yes. Download the PNG, which is drawn at 300 pixels per inch, and use it as a page template or background. For printing, use the PDF.
How many dots are on a page?
On A4 at 5 mm, 40 across and 55 down, 2,200 dots. On US Letter at 1/4 inch, 33 across and 41 down, 1,353 dots. Smaller margins can add a row or a column.