graphpaper

Make printable graph paper as PDF or SVG from Python or the command line: square grids, dot grids, lined and handwriting paper, isometric and hexagon grids, semi-log and log-log paper, and music staff / guitar tab paper.

• Exact size. Whole cells are fitted inside the margin and centred, so a 1/4 inch grid measures 1/4 inch when printed at 100% ("Actual size", not "Fit to page").
• Small files. Pure vector output. Multi-page PDFs share one content stream, so a 100-page notebook is barely bigger than one page.
• No dependencies. Pure Python 3.8+.

pip install graphpaper

Command line

graphpaper grid --spacing 0.25in --major 4 -o quarter-inch.pdf
graphpaper grid --spacing 5mm --size a4 --major 2 -o 5mm.pdf
graphpaper dot --spacing 5mm --size a4 --pages 50 -o dot-notebook.pdf
graphpaper lined --spacing 0.75in --midline --header --no-margin-line -o handwriting.pdf
graphpaper isometric --spacing 0.5in -o iso.svg
graphpaper hex --spacing 0.577in -o one-inch-hexes.pdf      # 1 in across the flats
graphpaper staff --spacing 2mm --staves 12 -o staff.pdf
graphpaper staff --spacing 2.5mm --staves 8 --tab -o guitar-tab.pdf
graphpaper semilog --cycles 3 -o semi-log-3-cycle.pdf
graphpaper semilog --cycles 4 --log-x --landscape -o bode.pdf   # log frequency axis
graphpaper loglog --cycles-x 3 --cycles 5 -o log-log.pdf

Run graphpaper --help for every option. The output format follows the file extension (.pdf or .svg).

Python

import graphpaper

graphpaper.save("quarter-inch.pdf", "grid", spacing="0.25in", major=4)
graphpaper.save("dots.pdf", "dot", spacing="5mm", size="a4", pages=50)

data = graphpaper.pdf("lined", spacing="0.28125in", header=True)   # bytes
svg = graphpaper.svg("isometric", spacing="0.5in", color="#999999")  # str

page = graphpaper.layout("grid", spacing="1cm", size="a4")
print(page.info)   # {'columns': 19, 'rows': 28}

Lengths are strings with a unit ("5mm", "0.25in", "1cm", "18pt") or plain numbers in inches.

Common options: size (letter, a4, legal, tabloid, a3, a5 or a (width, height) tuple), landscape, margin, color, major_color, weight, major_weight (points).

Notes

• Isometric lines all pass through one lattice point at the centre of the page, so the vertical lines meet the diagonals exactly on every page size.
• Hexagon edges shared by two cells are drawn once, which keeps lines even and files small.
• Log paper draws the 2…9 lines in every decade and adds finer subdivisions (1–2 by 0.1, 2–5 by 0.2, 5–10 by 0.5) only where a decade is long enough to keep them at least 2.2 pt apart, so many cycles on a small page never print as a grey smear. graphpaper.core.log_ticks(decade_len) returns the positions if you want them for your own plots.
• For e-ink tablets, set size to the screen size, e.g. reMarkable 2: size=("6.212in", "8.283in").

This package is the Python counterpart of the browser generator at https://graphpaperpdf.net/, which also has coordinate planes, polar paper, Cornell notes and engineering pads.

License

MIT