Graph papers in LaTeX: the gridpapers package

Make your own quadrille, graph, hex, etc. paper! Uses the PGF/TikZ package for LaTeX, which should be part of any modern TeX installation. All colors and spacing are customizable.

Once you clone or download the repo, simply run latex twice on the file "graph paper.tex" to produce a pdf. From the command line, type:

pdflatex "graph paper.tex"

There are more example .tex files in the examples directory to help get you started with customization. Each tex file has an almost-empty body, with a \usepackage statement that you can customize. For example, engineer-pad.tex looks like this:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[pattern=majmin, colorset=engineer]{gridpapers}
\begin{document}
\thispagestyle{empty}
~
\end{document}

(The ~ in the body forces a non-empty body, or else latex wouldn't generate a PDF).

Note: This package is distinct from a different package with a similar name, graphpaper (on CTAN).

Usage

All the configuration happens via the \usepackage command. The current valid options are:

• pattern=<name>: Valid pattern names are: std,stdeight,majmin,dot,hex,hexup,tri,iso,lightcone,ruled,doubleruled. Default is std. Patterns come with default page geometry (size and margins; see geometry), and default 'fullness' (whether they fill the page or not; see options fullpage and textarea).
• colorset=<name>: Valid color preset names are: std,precocious,ghostly,brickred,engineer,plumpad. Default is std. A preset determines the majorcolor, minorcolor, and bgcolor all at once. But, you can start from a preset and then override some colors.
• majorcolor=<color>: Override the preset "major" color. This can be a named color, or using the syntax from xcolor to mix colors together.
• minorcolor=<color>: Override the preset "minor" color. As above.
• bgcolor=<color>: Override the preset background color. As above.
• patternsize=<length>: Override the preset pattern size. The meaning of this length argument is different for each pattern; see PDF documentation for full details..
• dotsize=<length>: Controls the size of the dots themselves for pattern=dot. Default: .7pt
• fullpage: Make the pattern fill the whole page.
• textarea: Make the pattern fill only the text area of the document. At most one of the fullpage or textarea can be specified. If one is specified, it will override the default 'fullness' setting of the pattern.
• geometry={<geometry spec>}: Page geometry specification, using the syntax of the geometry package. If the geometry package was loaded before gridpapers, this option will be ignored. This specification will override the pattern's default page geometry.

For example, let's say you want to use the tri pattern, which by default fills the page. But you want it to fill just the textarea of an A4 page with 2cm margins, and you want the triangles to be .75cm long. Finally, you like the colors of the engineer set, but want a white background. Then you would write:

\usepackage[pattern=tri,
  patternsize=0.75cm,
  textarea,
  colorset=engineer,
  bgcolor=white,
  geometry={a4paper, margin=2cm}]{gridpapers}

Gallery

Some example styles:

Credits

This package was created by Robert McNees with additional contributions from Leo C. Stein, and is maintained by both. This material is subject to the LaTeX Project Public License 1.3c, (c) 2017-2021. The hexagon pattern code is due to Philippe Goutet.