These are free downloadable images that can be printed onto regular printer paper to give it the appearance of being college-ruled.
Paper that has lines on it is “ruled” and “college-ruled” means that there is a specific distance between the lines (7.1 mm), often with a margin line indented on the left side.
Print College-Ruled Notebook Paper
Let’s get to what you came here for. Here we have three examples of typical college-ruled paper you would find in stores. These free and downloadable college-ruled lined paper resemble exactly what you would find right out of a physical notebook, two versions without a margin line and one PDF version with a margin.
College-Ruled Paper #1
People used to draw all these lines by hand – can you believe that? What did people do when they needed graph paper before a printers were invented I’ll never know. Anyways, it’s great to have computers to print them for us!
College-ruled paper with differing styles or widths of lines can be used for different functions – for example, a student can double-space their work more easily in this format, which allows for a teacher to add corrections above or below the sentence in question.
Printable college-ruled paper (with margin)
Younger students who are just learning how to write and tend to write larger can use multiple lines if needed. For those that prefer larger distance between lines, there’s also the option of wide-ruled paper. Here’s another college-ruled notebook paper with alternating dark and dotted lines.
College-Ruled Notebook Paper (#3)
College-Ruled Paper Tips
- If you’d like to add a margin line to your paper, you can do it by copying and pasting the image into a word processor, which usually allows you to insert a line or other shape. Pick a margin distance, and add the line on top of the image.
- If you do add a margin, you can hole-punch the paper and add it more easily into a binder without cutting off any of your writing.
- If you want wider spaces between lines (getting something closer to “legal-ruled” paper), you can paste the image into a word processor, crop off the bottom of the image, and then expand it down the page. You will have fewer but wider lines.
Elizabeth Hampson is a freelance artist, graphic designer, and copywriter living in Edinburgh. Elizabeth received her Masters Degree at University of Edinburgh, She decided to stay in the Edinburgh, where she lives with her cat.
Elizabeth enjoys trying out new techniques and media in design and has enjoyed working with PrinterFriend.ly. Her media of choice is papercutting art, and quarantine forced her hand into starting a business selling her pieces. Check out Elizabeth’s full author bio profile here.