Typesetting with Inch Symbols and Sizes in Inches

In most style books it is recommended that you spell it out fully. If you however insist to typeset it as per the question use as follows:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{mathpazo,amsmath}
\def\inch#1{#1''}
\def\ft#1{#1'\thinspace}
\begin{document}
    6'\thinspace30''
%or
    \ft2\inch6
\end{document}

You can use the same method for typesetting time this way as well. You can create commands to suit. Even better to typeset it straight into SI units and let TeX do the conversion.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{mathpazo}
\usepackage{fp}
\usepackage{siunitx}
\def\inch#1{#1''}
\def\ft#1{#1'\thinspace}
\def\inchtomm#1{%
   \FPmul\result{#1}{25.4}
   \FPround{\result}{\result}{2}
   \SI{\result}{\mm}}
\begin{document}
6'\thinspace30''

\ft2\inch6

\(\inchtomm{8.5}\times\inchtomm{11}\)

%or

\(8.5\thinspace\text{in}\times 11\thinspace\text{in}\)
\end{document}

If you absolutely need to typeset it in inches, use 8.5~in or \mbox{8.5\thinspace in}. Both are acceptable ways from a typesetting point of view.

Edit

Had a look at a few guides. The image is from Science and Technical Writing, a Manual of Style, 2nd Edition by Philip Rubens. (Highly recommended)

enter image description here

The overall consensus in the context you describe is to spell it out in full words. In tables, the inches appear as a heading and the by symbol used i.e., 5 x 10

The abbreviated form in text can take a stop or be left out in.; as units in my early Engineering Books always used it as in i.e., lb/in etc.


Independent of which symbol you actually go with you should make use of the siunitx package and use DeclareSIUnit to setup the meaning of \inch. That way you can use this unit in the same manner as the other SI units, and have all the flexibility that comes with the siunitx package.

In the MWE below, I have used in, but another alternate is to use \textquotedbl (\inchQ) as shown in the output:

enter image description here

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{siunitx}

\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}% Needed for \textquotedbl
\DeclareSIUnit[number-unit-product = {}]{\inchQ}{\textquotedbl}

\DeclareSIUnit[number-unit-product = {\thinspace}]{\inch}{in}

\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}{ll}
    \SI{8.5 x 11}{\inch}  & \SI[product-units = single]{8.5 x 11}{\inch}\\
    \SI{8.5 x 11}{\inchQ} & \SI[product-units = single]{8.5 x 11}{\inchQ}
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

As others have said, it's generally best to spell out "inches" in full.

However, the correct sign for inches is the double prime. Not right curly quotes, not straight quotes, but the mathematical double prime.

In math mode, prime can be typed with a single apostrophe, so "25 feet, 11 inches" can be abbreviated as:

25' 11''

Sources:

  • Robert Bringhurst's The Elements of Typographic Style, page 283
  • a question on English Language & Usage SE
  • Wikipedia article on the prime symbol
  • an article on indesignsecrets.com

Tags:

Typography

Units

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