Blank pages are not limited to the end of a book or booklet. Publishers do not like blank pages before the initial pages of a chapter either. This requires a bit of explanation.

People who read English books prefer to start reading on the right-hand page - and this is indeed the case in many books. A blank page on the left-hand side frequently precedes this page. If the preceding chapter ends on the left-hand page, then there may be two blank pages - the extra blank page following the last page that has text, and also the blank left hand page.

Publishers usually want to reduce costs. They may choose to begin each chapter immediately after the conclusion of the previous chapter. The savings may indeed be significant, as those extra pages may force him to print another sheet or signature.

The best and the worst

This issue does not arise when printing better-quality books. Texts produced by elite publishers start on the right side of the page, even though it may mean printing an additional signature. It's also not an issue for the cheapest pulp novels, in which individual pages are glued to the binding - and in which they fall out after the first few readings. Those books are not based on signatures.

Languages such as Hebrew read from right to left. In such cases, people prefer to begin chapters on the left-hand page, and all of the comments in these installments are reversed. In a high-quality book, a blank page on the right-hand side precedes the first page of each chapter.