‘Kern’ is a nifty word, but it is a ‘signature’ you seek

Today’s question: Why is it that at the end of almost every book there are three or four blank pages? This is a neat-o question because in the course of researching it I learned a new word — kerning. Kerning is the practice of adjusting the spaces between the characters on a printed page to make the words fit more evenly and to avoid wasting paper.

But who knew that, aside from a few book people? So you can pretty much use kern or kerning however you please and chances are no one will know the difference and you’ll sound smart.

To wit: “Aren’t you worried about your car kerning like that when you make a left turn?” or “Is that a kern on your nose?” or “So, there I was kerning in Wichita Falls and I looked back and …” Nifty word. There is another bit of bookbuilding lingo involved here, but it isn’t as much fun to say — signatures.

Signatures are the sheets of paper a printer has to fold to make a book — say four or 32 or 64 or whatever, as long as it is divisible at least by four.

So a designer might kern the bejabbers out of a book, but if it comes out at, say, 203 pages, there is going to be at least one blank page left over.

Sometimes designers use those pages to list an author’s other works or details about the typesetting or sometimes just leave them blank.

Some people think those blank pages are there for you to jot down notes on the deep thoughts the book inspired you to think. Suit yourself.