Looking for a clipboard with a page guide printed on it

[MHBru]

I'm not sure if this exists because i have yet to find one.  I am looking for a clipboard to use for A4 letter writing that has lines and borders printed on it that is dark enough to use as a page guide.  I've tried using a second sheet of lined paper but it moves around too much to be helpful.  Does anyone know where one might exist?  Thanks!!

[brokenclay]

Maybe get a clipboard and write the lines on it yourself with permanent marker?

 

or print out a guide sheet and decoupage it onto a clipboard?

[LizEF]

Some possibilities:

 

Grid on clipboard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YSWDBNZ/

 

DIY on the back of a clear clipboard (spares for practice): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGC7ZXY/

 

DIY, guide sheet goes under the clear bit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GZHYCY5/

 

DIY, find a board with a grid on it, turn it into a clipboard with these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S4B4VM3/

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, MHBru said:

I am looking for a clipboard to use for A4 letter writing that has lines and borders printed on it that is dark enough to use as a page guide.

 

I'll hazard a guess that the borders aspect in your requirements makes it much more difficult for you to find a commercially available retail product to suit, because putting borders on the guide implies expecting the user to have consistent, repeatable, and accurate placement of a stack of sheets on the clipboard. That would make more sense on a fixed-in-place engineering drawing aid, or light-box or some such that manga artists use for tracing sketches, etc. and not a device designed primarily to be a highly portable and sufficiently rigid for users to carry, and provide physical support such that users can write on while moving around.

 

If you're indeed based in the US that the location shown in your member profile suggests, then it's even harder since the US has been forever tardy in adopting international standards of measurements and sizing, so it's unlikely you'll find products made or ‘designed in’ USA that caters to those who want to effect consistent, repeatable, and accurate placement of A4-sized sheets.

 

52 minutes ago, brokenclay said:

or print out a guide sheet and decoupage it onto a clipboard?

 

Just glue the guide sheet down (semi-)permanently on the face of the clipboard. Replace sheet, or even the clipboard itself, when and as often as necessary. It'll meet the functional requirements, with or without the solution being convenient, elegant, or best value-for-money; but those are not the stumbling blocks in the O.P.'s quest from what I can see.

[LizEF]

Other (overboard) thoughts:

 

This seems like the perfect excuse to get a CNC machine, so you can etch perfectly straight guidelines in your preferred line width on the back of a clear clipboard, then fill the lines with black paint.

 

This also seems like the perfect excuse to do your first project with clear epoxy, wherein you embed a sheet of cardstock in the middle with your desired lines printed on it.  Done right, this will look much more professional that a page glued onto a clipboard, and once you've perfected, you can sell the product.  It's also the perfect opportunity to finally kick all the cars out of the garage.  Of course, it may also present your wife the perfect opportunity to kick you into the doghouse, but all projects have a price....

[LizEF]

I'm thinking a laser engraver to engrave the pattern into a thin sheet of wood which you could then coat with epoxy.

[Vartiz]

I'm sorry for not giving a link for US Amazon (I don't know the correct name in English), my ideia would be use one of this:

https://www.amazon.com.br/Prancheta-Portátil-Espessura-Trident-48-A4AC/dp/B078N6W3X7/ref=sr_1_76?dchild=1&qid=1634884507&refinements=p_4%3ATrident&s=office&sr=1-76&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.6d798eae-cadf-45de-946a-f477d47705b9

and use the flat locking piece to guide a square to make the lines with permanent marker, or use a sheet under the paper that you are using. Bonus in using the acrylic version that you can shine a light under it so is way easier to see the lines

Edited October 22, 2021 by Vartiz
found the link for the A4 clipboard

[Karmachanic]

A4 shitajiki might help.

 

to add:

[ParramattaPaul]

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I did a methods of instruction course in the Army.  One of the useful skills were taught was how to make A4 slides to use with overhead projectors. The same method could be used to DIY the clipboard you want. 

 

You need clear plastic film that has adhesive on one side and a sheet of paper that is ruled the way you want it. Place the paper print side down onto the adhesive surface of the clear film. Use a rolling pin to squish out any air and to get a good, strong bond. Next, soak it in water until the paper is well saturated, and then gently rub the paper off of the film leaving the print. Finish it by using a spray adhesive to bond the film to the clipboard. 

 

Or, you can find someone who can simply paint what you want on a clipboard for you.

[Dione]

Actual clipboard surface can be too hard to write on so I found it better to get a piece of card to go underneath the printed guideline sheet and temporarily stick that in place. Then whenever you need a new line guide you can print another one off and attach it to the piece of card.

[MHBru]

17 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

A4 shitajiki might help.

 

to add:

best idea so far!  thanks!