Rhodia No. 16 DotPad: A5 Paper, Dots & Pad Sizes

Drawing of the black Rhodia No. 16 DotPad, A5, 148 × 210 mm, closed with its scored, top-stapled cover, and open with the cover folded back to a white sheet with dots every 5 mm; inset: 5 mm dots — The A5 No. 16 DotPad, closed and open, drawn to scale.

Product facts

Product: Rhodia No. 16 DotPad, A5, top-stapled, black cover (16559C)
Brand: Rhodia
Brand origin: France
Made in: France^*
Material: 80 g/m² Clairefontaine vellum paper, coated card cover
Released: 1934^*
Price range: $$$5–20 per ream or pad

Notes on these facts

Made by Clairefontaine Rhodia (Exacompta Clairefontaine group); sold in the US by Exaclair. Made in France: Rhodia says all its notepads are manufactured at its plant near Mulhouse, Alsace; its 2024 French press kit places the plant at Illzach, on the edge of Mulhouse, since 1997. Retailers The Journal Shop, Dromgooles, Bruneau and Wonderpens also list the No. 16 as made in France. Source. Price: example listing. Released: 1934 is when Rhodia launched its stapled pad (Rhodia press kit); the dot ruling came later, and the black cover in 2007.
Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026.

Key takeaways

The No. 16 is A5: 148 × 210 mm, or 5.8 × 8.3 in. US shops such as Goldspot round it to 6 × 8.25 in.
One pad holds 80 sheets (160 pages) of 80 g/m² paper that retailers describe as acid-free and pH neutral.
The dots are spaced 5 mm apart; most listings describe them as light grey.
Rhodia's French press kit says Henri and Robert Vérilhac opened a stationery business in Lyon in 1932 and launched Rhodia and its stapled pad in September 1934; the black cover followed in 2007.
Rhodia says it makes all its notepads in France, at its plant at Illzach near Mulhouse, Alsace, on paper from Clairefontaine's mill at Étival; Exaclair's 2024 US list price is US$7.00 a pad.

What is the Rhodia No. 16 DotPad?

The Rhodia No. 16 DotPad is an A5 notepad, stapled at the top, with 80 tear-off sheets of 80 g/m² Clairefontaine paper printed with a 5 mm dot grid. The “No. 16” is Rhodia’s code for the A5 size; “DotPad” is the dot-grid ruling.

Rhodia began in Lyon: its French press kit says Henri and Robert Vérilhac opened a stationery wholesale business there in 1932, then registered the Rhodia name and launched the orange stapled pad in September 1934. The black cover appeared in 2007 and a white one in 2014. Clairefontaine took Rhodia over in 1997, and it is now part of the French Exacompta Clairefontaine group.

Rhodia No. 16 DotPad specs

Spec	Value
Maker	Clairefontaine Rhodia (Exacompta Clairefontaine group)
Reference	16559C (black cover, dot grid); 16558C (orange)
Barcode (EAN)	3037920165592 (black)
Size	A5, 148 × 210 mm (5.8 × 8.3 in); US listings say 6 × 8.25 in
Sheets	80 (160 pages), micro-perforated
Paper	80 g/m² Clairefontaine vellum, acid-free, pH neutral
Ruling	Dots every 5 mm
Binding	Stapled at the top, with reinforced staples and a stiff card back
Covers	Orange or black, water-resistant and scored to fold back
US list price	US$7.00 (Exaclair 2024 catalog)
Made in	France

Rhodia’s French site lists the 80 micro-perforated sheets, grey 5 mm dots and card back; its press kit and Exaclair’s 2024 US catalog give the 80 g/m² paper. Size and barcode come from The Journal Shop and Swiss Post, and the country of origin comes from Rhodia.

To-scale drawing of the Rhodia No. 16 A5 sheet, 148 by 210 mm, with dots every 5 mm, next to the smaller No. 13 (105 by 148 mm) and No. 11 (74 by 105 mm) pads — The No. 16 has about twice the page area of the No. 13 and four times that of the No. 11.

Which rulings does the No. 16 come in?

Besides dots, the No. 16 comes lined, graph-ruled and blank. Goldspot lists the black No. 16 in lined with margin, graph, dot grid and blank; French retailer LDLC lists a 5 × 5 mm graph version and a lined version with margin.

Dot grid: a light guide for writing, lists and sketches.
Graph (5 × 5 mm): the classic Rhodia ruling, for diagrams and math.
Lined with margin: for letters and notes.

What are the other Rhodia pad sizes?

Rhodia numbers its pads by size, and most follow the A-series. The No. 16 sits in the middle of the range.

Pad	Size	Metric	Inches
No. 11	A7	74 × 105 mm	2.9 × 4.1 in
No. 12	–	85 × 120 mm	3.3 × 4.7 in
No. 13	A6	105 × 148 mm	4.1 × 5.8 in
No. 16	A5	148 × 210 mm	5.8 × 8.3 in
No. 18	A4	210 × 297 mm	8.3 × 11.7 in
No. 19	–	210 × 318 mm	8.3 × 12.5 in

Rhodia’s French dotPad page lists 8.5 × 12 cm, A5, A4, 21 × 31.8 cm (No. 19) and 42 × 31.8 cm (No. 38) for the dot ruling; the other sizes are from JetPens, Goldspot and Officeworks. A Fountain Pen Network member reports that the No. 19 is longer than A4 so that a torn-off sheet is still a full A4 page.

Is the Rhodia No. 16 good for fountain pens?

Fountain pen shops such as Goulet Pens stock it, and buyers there rate it well with fountain pens. Retailers describe the 80 g/m² sheet as extra-white and super smooth, and a Canadian retailer calls it Clairefontaine vellum with a satin finish.

That is the shops’ and buyers’ view, not ours. We haven’t tested bleed, show-through or feathering yet. For heavier 90 g/m² letter paper from the same group, see the Clairefontaine Triomphe pad.

How does the No. 16 compare to an A5 notebook?

The No. 16 has the same 80 g/m² paper weight as a Leuchtturm1917 A5 but is a tear-off pad rather than a bound notebook.

	Rhodia No. 16 DotPad	Leuchtturm1917 A5	Moleskine Classic Large
Size	148 × 210 mm	145 × 210 mm	130 × 210 mm
Paper	80 g/m², white	80 g/m²	70 g/m², ivory
Pages	160 (80 sheets)	249	240
Binding	Top-stapled, tear-off	Hardcover	Hardcover

Pick the pad for loose sheets you can file or hand out, and a bound notebook if you want everything kept together. Rhodia’s own bound A5, the Rhodia Webnotebook, has 192 pages of 90 g/m² ivory paper in a hard cover. For a writing companion, the Pilot G2 in 0.38 or 0.5 mm puts down less ink than the wider tips.

Where is the Rhodia No. 16 made?

Rhodia says all its notepads are made in France, at its plant in Mulhouse in Alsace. Its 2024 French press kit places the plant, a site dating from 1840, at Illzach on the edge of Mulhouse since 1997, and says the paper comes from the Clairefontaine mill in Étival, in the Vosges. US and European retailers also list the No. 16 as made in France.

Frequently asked questions

What size is a Rhodia No. 16 pad?

It is A5, 148 × 210 mm (5.8 × 8.3 in). Many US retailers list it as 6 × 8.25 in, a rounded figure for the same pad.

How many sheets are in a Rhodia No. 16 DotPad?

There are 80 sheets, or 160 pages if you write on both sides. Each sheet is micro-perforated at the top so it tears off cleanly.

What paper weight does Rhodia use?

The No. 16 uses 80 g/m² paper from Clairefontaine, which retailers describe as a smooth, white vellum that is acid-free and pH neutral.

Is Rhodia paper good for fountain pens?

Fountain pen shops such as Goulet Pens stock it, and buyer reviews there praise it with fountain pens. Rhodia doesn't publish a bleed rating, and we haven't run our own bleed or feathering test yet.

How far apart are the dots on a Rhodia DotPad?

The dots are 5 mm apart in both directions. Most retailers describe them as light grey; one Canadian listing calls them light lilac.

Where are Rhodia pads made?

In France. Rhodia says all its notepads are manufactured at its plant in Mulhouse, in the Alsace region, using paper from the Clairefontaine mill at Étival.

Who owns Rhodia?

Rhodia belongs to the French Exacompta Clairefontaine group. Rhodia's press kit says Clairefontaine took it over in 1997, and Exaclair sells the brand in the US.

Is the No. 16 stapled or spiral-bound?

The classic No. 16 pad is stapled at the top. Rhodia also sells a separate top-wirebound No. 16 notebook, so check the listing if binding matters to you.

Sources (25)

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