Ruled paper (or lined paper) is writing paper printed with lines as a guide for handwriting. The lines often are printed with fine width and in light colour and such paper is sometimes called feint-ruled paper. Additional vertical lines may provide margins, act as tab stops or create a grid for plotting data; for example, graph paper (squared paper or grid paper) is divided into squares by horizontal and vertical lines. History Initially, paper was ruled by hand, sometimes using templates. Scribes could rule their paper using a "hard point," a sharp implement which left embossed lines on the paper without any ink or color, or could use "metal point," an implement which left colored marks on the paper, much like a graphite pencil, though various other metals were used. On 15 June 1770, English inventor John Tetlow patented a "machine for ruling paper for music and other purposes." A later machine was invented by William Orville Hickok in the mid-19th century. Generic types 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 the paper 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 (or Writing 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, or feints, with vertical lines drawn to indicate margins, 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 (or quad 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 in spreadsheets or accounts. Semi-log ruled paper is similar to quadrille ruled, except the horizontal lines are spaced according to the logarithmic scale instead of being