Ruled paper (orlined paper) iswriting paper printed with lines as a guide forhandwriting. The lines often are printed with fine width and in light colour and such paper is sometimes calledfeint-ruled paper. Additional vertical lines may providemargins, act astab stops or create a grid for plotting data; for example,graph paper (squared paper orgrid paper) is divided into squares by horizontal and vertical lines.
Initially, paper was ruled by hand, sometimes using templates.[1]Scribes could rule their paper using a "hard point," a sharp implement which left embossed lines on the paper without any ink or color,[2] or could use "metal point," an implement which left colored marks on the paper, much like agraphite pencil, though various other metals were used.[3]
On 15 June 1770, English inventor John Tetlow patented a "machine for ruling paper for music and other purposes."[4] A later machine was invented by William Orville Hickok in the mid-19th century.[5]
Lines on ruled paper provide a guide to help users keep their writing or drawing consistent with a predetermined set of rules. The ruling layout is not determined by thepaper size but by the purpose, style of handwriting or the language used. Many different line layouts support handwriting,calligraphy, plotting data on graphs,musical notation or help teach students to write in a particular language or script. The following are common examples:
Note paper (orWriting paper,Filler paper,Loose leaf paper,Binder paper) is typically used for handwriting and is produced in different layouts and sizes. The layout usually consists of evenly spaced horizontal lines, orfeints, with vertical lines drawn to indicatemargins, the middle of the page, or sections of a line.
Graph paper has horizontal and vertical lines evenly spaced over the entire page to create a grid of squares and is used for drafting, drawing and plotting graphs. Often every tenth or fifth line is bolded to assist in counting the lines when plotting data.
Quadrille ruled paper (orquad paper) is similar to graph paper but without the bolded tenth lines. It is useful in mathematics to keep numbers in columns when doing manual operations such as long division or long multiplication, and inspreadsheets or accounts.
Semi-log ruled paper is similar to quadrille ruled, except the horizontal lines are spaced according to thelogarithmic scale instead of being evenly spaced.[6]
Log-log ruled paper is similar to semi-log ruled except that both the horizontal and vertical lines are spaced logarithmically.
Manuscript paper is used for handwriting music. The most basic page is laid out with a series of five-line staves, each spanning the width of the page. Anymusical notation (clefs, bars, notes, etc.) may be written in as desired by the artist. As notebook paper is to the written word, music manuscript paper is to the written score.
Elementary students use (田字格) Tianzige ruled paper, featuring boxes for individual characters. Sometimes each box is subdivided (vertically, horizontally, diagonally) as reference to aid the writer with the relative proportion and placement ofcharacter components.
In Taiwan, the Japanesegenkō yōshi is the main form of rule used by students writing in Mandarin, where it is called原稿紙 (pinyin:yuángǎo zhǐ). Students use the thin vertical column to transcribeBopomofo pronunciation.
In order to foster handwriting discipline, a type of ruling known asSeyès ruling[7] is used on paper in schools. Heavy vertical lines are spaced 8 mm (5⁄16 in) apart, beginning16 mm (5⁄8 in) from the left-hand edge of the page. Three lighter lines are spaced2 mm (5⁄64 in) apart between each pair of heavy lines.[8] These sheets of paper are generally known asgrands carreaux (large tiles) as opposed to thepetits carreaux (small tiles) which are 5 × 5mm. Seyès ruled paper is available in single sheets (copies simples) or joined double sheets (copies doubles), which can be preferred for exams, being easier to handle (a single sheet can be lost, they might be used as a portfolio to store more sheets, etc). Seyès ruled paper is available in A4 size (grand format) and in the very school specific 170 × 220 mm format (petit format).
Among others,genkō yōshi (原稿用紙, "manuscript paper") is a kind of paper mainly used forkanji script writing, formed vertically with individual boxes for each Chinese character. There is a thin column to the right of the boxes, for transcribingkana pronunciation. The sizes can vary for ability levels. It is used across theEast Asian cultural sphere, for example in Korea for writing proverbs.
Formats for exercise notebooks are standardised.[10] School exercise books must use 8 mm spacing between the lines. Other ruled paper may use 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm and 9 mm spacing. The paper forcursive writing uses pairs of lines 4 mm apart, with 8 mm between the pairs. They may also have angled lines at 65 degrees to vertical to provide additional guidance. The lines can have gray, blue, green or purple color. The vertical margin line must have red or orange color.
Ruled paper is available in a variety of semi-standardized formats:
Gregg ruled paper has ruling specialized forstenography. "Paper should be smooth and lined, dull in finish, with three lines to the inch and a line down the center."[11]
Junior legal ruled paper is found on 5-by-8-inch junior legal pads. This can be equal to narrow or medium rule, depending on the manufacturer.
Manuscript ruled paper is used to teach young children how to write. A blank sheet consists of rows of three lines (the space between them depends on the age group being taught) with the middle line in each three-line set being dotted. TheD'Nealian writing style is a well-known teaching method that makes use of this type of paper ruling. Another educational institution,A Beka Book, utilizes this ruling along with a house metaphor (upstairs, downstairs, and basement) to help young children learn where parts of each letter should be written. The usage is similar in concept to the use of the horizontal lines on French Seyès rule paper.
Medium ruled (orcollege ruled) paper has9⁄32 in (7.1 mm) spacing between horizontal lines, with a vertical margin drawn about1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) from the left-hand edge of the page. Its use is very common in the United States.
Narrow ruled paper has1⁄4 in (8⁄32 in, 6.4 mm) spacing between ruling lines, and is used by those with smaller handwriting or to fit more lines per page.
Pitman ruled paper has ruling specialized forstenography. It has1⁄2 in (12.7 mm) spacing between ruling lines, with a single margin drawn down the center of the page.
Wide ruled (orlegal ruled) paper has11⁄32 in (8.7 mm) spacing between horizontal lines, with a vertical margin drawn about1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) from the left-hand edge of the page. It is commonly used by American children in grade school, as well as by those with larger handwriting.
There appears to be no British Standard. However, the line spacing for adult ruled paper is most commonly 8 mm and squared maths paper has a 5 mm grid. Narrow ruled line spacing is typically 6 mm. There is specialist handwriting paper available for primary schools ("Education standard Learn to Write Exercise books") and a British Standard BS4448 ("Specification for school exercise books and papers"). You can find ruled paper at 15 mm spacing and squared maths paper at 10 mm spacing. Anything above primary school tends to use adult ruling.
^Lamb, Marion Minerva (1961).Your First Year of Teaching Shorthand and Transcription. [South-Western publications for business teachers] X95. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western Publishing Company. p. 126.Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved19 May 2020.
