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>I'm trying to perfect the following in a sentence that appears in a
>brochure soon to go to press:
>"thicknesses less than 0.001 inches (0.0254 millimeters)"
>Since the measurement refers to a fraction/decimal less than one ...
I would use the "mil." I learned the term in printing shops and used it for
years when specifying work for machinists and craft specialists.
Like so (since this is a brochure):
"The WhizzoWonderTool can slice granola precisely to your specifications to
thicknesses less than 1 mil (1/1000th of an inch)."
Although I do suggest you give the conversion between mils and inches (just
in case there is someone not familiar with machine shop terminology, such as
the CEOs in your audience) I would *not* give the metric conversion, at
least not in that sentence.
If you have a section for performance and operating specifications of your
product (especially if you have a comparison table where you line yours up
against competitors' products) you could give all the numbers in both
systems -- but I wouldn't do it in text.
That's my two cents (0.00357 francs) anyway.
(Distracting, isn't it? And no, I have no idea what the right conversion is
between cents and francs.)
John Gear (catalyst -at- pacifier -dot- com)
The Bill of Rights--The Original Contract with America
Accept no substitutes. Beware of imitations. Insist on the genuine articles.
