Variations
What prints with the starting settings
| Paper | A5 — 148 × 210 mm (5.83 × 8.27 in) |
|---|---|
| Line spacing | 6 mm = 0.236″ |
| Ruling | Custom ruling |
| Writing lines on this page | 28 |
| Margins | 10 mm |
| Line weight | 0.18 mm (bold 0.35 mm) |
| Print setting | Scale 100% / Actual size |
A journal page, not a school sheet
A5 lined paper serves a different purpose from the A4 sheets in a ring binder. It is the size of diaries, hardback journals, planner inserts and pocket-friendly notebooks — the page you write a daily reflection on, keep a reading log in, or draft poems and letters by hand. Those uses favour clean pages, so this template drops the margin line and starts with a 6 mm ruling that gives 28 lines on a 148 × 210 mm sheet.
If your writing is larger, the 7.1 mm college ruling and the 8 mm ruling are a click away. Fountain pen users often pick 8 mm, because broad and stub nibs need extra space between lines to keep loops from touching.
Typical uses include gratitude journals, where three to five short entries fill a page; reading logs with title, author and a few lines of thoughts; and morning pages, the habit of writing three pages longhand at the start of each day; the practice was described with full-size paper in mind, but many people keep them in an A5 journal instead.
Building a handmade notebook
Booklet mode turns these pages into a real notebook:
- Set Pages in the PDF to 32, 48 or another multiple of four.
- Turn on Booklet in Advanced options. The PDF lays out two A5 pages per side of A4 in signature order.
- Print double-sided with flip on short edge, at Actual size.
- Fold in half and staple, or sew a simple three-hole pamphlet stitch through the spine.
For thicker books, make several 16-page signatures and sew them together. Turn on page numbers before you print if you want an index or contents page.
Refills for A5 planners
Ring and disc planners take loose A5 sheets. Print single pages and punch them, with Alternate margins for binding switched on so the line ends stay clear of the holes when you print on both sides. A slightly heavier paper reduces show-through from gel and fountain pens.
Prefer dots for mixed writing and drawing? The A5 dot grid prints the same way. For full-size school pages, see A4 lined paper.
More lined paper sheets
- College ruled paper (Letter & A4)
- Wide ruled paper (Letter & A4)
- Notebook paper (college ruled, with holes)
- A4 lined paper (8 mm feint with margin)
- Narrow ruled paper (Letter, A4 & Legal)
- Writing paper (wide lines for letters and stories)
- Genkō yōshi (Japanese manuscript paper)
- Legal pad paper (yellow, Legal & Letter)
- Seyès paper (French ruled)
- Arabic lined paper (right-hand margin)
- Wongoji (Korean manuscript paper)
- Pitman ruled paper (1/2 inch lines)
Frequently asked questions
How many lines are on an A5 lined page?
At 6 mm spacing with 10 mm margins, an A5 page has 28 writing lines. College ruling gives 23 and 8 mm ruling gives 21.
Why is the default 6 mm and not college ruled?
A5 pages are narrow, so lines are shorter and handwriting tends to be smaller. 6 mm is a common ruling in A5 journals and notebooks; switch to 7.1 mm or 8 mm if you prefer more room.
How do I make an A5 notebook from A4 sheets?
Turn on Booklet in Advanced options with a page count that is a multiple of four. Print double-sided, flipping on the short edge, then fold and staple or sew. Each A4 sheet becomes four A5 pages.
Why is there no margin line?
On a page only 148 mm wide, a margin at the usual 30 mm takes a fifth of the line. Journals rarely use one. If you want it, the narrow-margin variant places it 20 mm from the edge.
Will Half Letter pages work instead?
Yes. Half Letter (5.5 × 8.5 in, also called statement size) is the North American planner size: a little narrower and taller than A5, it fits junior binders and discbound planners. It also has 28 lines at 6 mm and folds from US Letter in booklet mode, which is handy if your printer only has Letter paper.
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