Recto is the right-hand page of an open book and always carries an odd number. Verso is the left-hand page and always carries an even number. The pairing is fixed by how a bound book is made, so it is not a convention anyone can choose to reverse.
New Hart's Rules gives both in one line each: "recto, the right-hand page of a spread: a recto always has an odd page number", and "verso, the left-hand page of a spread: a verso always has an even page number."
Why the Pairing Cannot Change
A leaf of paper has two sides. Bound into a book, the front of a leaf faces right and its back faces left. Page 1 is the front of the first leaf, so page 2 is its reverse, page 3 the front of the next leaf, and so on. Odd numbers land on the right for the whole book because that is simply which side of the sheet they are.
This is why the rule holds without exception in print, and why it stops meaning anything in a reflowable ebook, where there are no leaves at all. New Hart's Rules notes that for digital readers "the concepts of double-page spreads, rectos, and versos are not as meaningful".
Printers have long used the plainer words. De Vinne, in 1904: "The pages known to bibliographers as recto and verso are respectively called by printers odd and even."
Why It Matters
A recto is the more prominent page. It is the one a reader turns to, and the eye lands there first. New Hart's Rules states the hierarchy directly: "The recto is regarded as the 'more important' of the two pages of a spread."
That prominence drives the placement rules for anything that opens a section:
- The main text always begins on a recto.
- Part titles always begin on a recto, "even though the preceding page may be blank".
- Front matter sections customarily begin on a recto. The contents page in particular: New Hart's Rules says it "always falls on a recto".
- Ordinary chapters need not. They are "usually allowed to begin on either a verso or a recto", which is more permissive than most guides claim.
The fixed sequence at the front of a book falls out of these rules. Half title on i, its blank verso on ii, title page on iii, copyright on iv, dedication on v. Princeton University Press publishes exactly that sequence for its authors, noting that the text "starts on right-hand page numbered 1" while "subsequent chapters can start on right- or left-hand page".
Blank Versos
Forcing something onto a recto means the preceding verso is sometimes left empty. That blank page is correct typesetting, not an error. It carries no running head and no folio, though it is still counted.
Blank versos are also the first thing sacrificed when a book runs slightly over its page budget. New Hart's Rules describes the usual fix as "sacrificing the luxury of blank versos" to bring the total down to an even working.
Doing This in Deckle
Deckle handles recto and verso automatically wherever the convention requires it. Chapter one opens on a recto, and the Start chapters on right-hand page toggle in Advanced print settings extends that to every chapter, inserting a blank verso where needed and leaving it completely bare.
Recto and verso also drive two other settings. The Outer page number position mirrors the folio across the spread, sitting right on a recto and left on a verso. And the default running header content differs by side, putting the book title on the verso and the chapter title on the recto, which is the standard arrangement.
None of this applies to EPUB export, where there are no fixed pages.
Common Mistakes
- Mixing up which is which. Recto is right and odd. The r in recto and right is the usual mnemonic.
- Trying to put an odd page on the left. Not possible in a bound book.
- Treating a blank verso as a formatting error. It is intended, and it should carry no header or folio.
- Assuming every chapter must open recto. Only parts and the start of the text must.
- Applying recto and verso reasoning to an ebook. There are no spreads in a reflowable file.
FAQ
Q: Is recto always odd? A: Yes, in a bound book, without exception.
Q: Which side is page 1 on? A: The right. Page 1 is a recto.
Q: What is a spread? A: The two facing pages you see when a book is open: a verso on the left and the following recto on the right.
Q: Does the cover count? A: No. Pagination starts at the first page inside the book.
Q: Do I need to think about this for an ebook? A: No. Reflowable files have no fixed pages, so the distinction does not apply.