Generators
Engineering Paper
Engineering computation paper: a 1/5-inch grid with heavier inch lines and a title block for project, date, sheet number and checker.
This page has its own title block.
Print at 100% (“Actual size”), not “Fit to page”, so the spacing measures true.
Preview of the one-page PDF.
The paper and PDF are made in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Works in your browser. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions
What is engineering paper?
Engineering paper, also called an engineering computation pad or engineer's pad, is the green-tinted gridded paper engineering students and working engineers use for calculations and sketches. It has a header for project, date, author and sheet number, and a grid of five squares per inch. On the bought pads the grid is printed on the back and shows faintly through the front, so it guides your work without cluttering photocopies.
Why is engineering paper green?
The pale green tint is easier on the eyes than bright white under strong lighting, and the faint grid on green does not reproduce strongly when the page is photocopied, so the copies show the work rather than the grid. This PDF prints the grid on the front of the page; choose light grey or the green line color with fine weight if you want it to recede.
What goes in the title block?
Project (or course), subject (what the sheet is about), date, “by” for your name or initials, sheet number and total (“Sheet 3 of 7”) and “checked” for the person who reviews the calculation. Numbering sheets matters because engineering calculations are handed in or filed as a set.
How should I lay out work on engineering paper?
The usual conventions: one problem per page or clearly separated problems, write only on the front, start with the given information and a sketch, then the assumptions and the solution, and box the final answer with units. The grid helps keep equations aligned and sketches roughly to scale.
Can I print it double-sided?
Engineering paper is traditionally used on one side only, which is why the real pads print the grid on the back. If you need double-sided pages, turn off binder holes so both sides look the same.
About this tool
Engineering paper is the standard writing surface in engineering and physics courses and in many engineering offices: professors often require homework to be handed in on it. The format is simple and practical — a light grid of five squares per inch for aligned equations and sketches to scale, a heavier line every inch, and a title block across the top so every sheet can be identified and filed.
This page reproduces that format as a PDF. The grid is exactly 1/5 inch (14.4 points), heavier every inch, with a thick border; the two-row title block has fields for project, subject, date, author, sheet number and checker. The optional pale green tint gives the familiar pad look, at the cost of more ink on an inkjet printer.
It is a useful stopgap when the pad runs out the night before a problem set is due, and a cheaper option for a class that goes through a lot of it. Choose US 3-hole to make room for a binder, or A4 if that is what you print on. For graph paper without the title block, see graph paper; for plots with axes, graph paper with axes.
A good habit: write the problem statement, a free-body or circuit diagram, the known values, the equations and then the solution, drawing a box around the final answer with its units — the layout graders expect on engineering paper.