–Dash/Slash

[Eraser Nubbin]

How do you deal with "/" and "–" when you are typesetting?

I never know whether to put a space on either side of them or not...

For example:

"super – duper" or "super–duper"

"borscht / stew" or "borscht/stew"

I am sure there is a convention.. was wondering how you approach it aesthetically.

[balou]

I don't use spaces. Just doesn't look correct to me with spaces.

[Zendada]

What she said. Unless you are using an em dash — the longer dash as opposed to a hyphen — then you need spaces.

[twogun]

definately no spaces, i have a text book somewhere that explains why but it was always the thing that stuck in my mind from my college years.

[captain spanky]

yep no spaces... one reason is so it doesn't split on to two lines when it gets a bit squashed

[play_it_leo]

Sometimes a space is not necessary it depends what typeface you are using. If you think it could use some space optically you should use a thin space. If you are using a program where you can not insert a thin space then you should kern it out a few points on each side.

InDesign key command for thin space command>option>shift>m

[mac.FINN]

What she said. Unless you are using an em dash — the longer dash as opposed to a hyphen — then you need spaces.

Actually it's correct not to use spaces when using an em dash. Although it's acceptable both ways. I almost never use spaces around a dash (hypen, en dash or em dash), as for a slash, I agree that a thin space is the way to go.

[mojoprime]

i'm in with finn.

heh. sorry. bet you've never heard that before.

i just read again in one of the recent dynamic graphics about that, and the common practice is not space around the em dashes. i think it's

1. em dash instead of "--"
2. en dash for like 1980-82, or something and inbetween hours of the clock (8-9 p.m.), and if the you have 2 (or more) hyphens in a row, as in something like "super-duper--ass-kisser" or something.
3. the hyphen is for hyphens and phone numbers.

i swear i read that in one of the type columns recently. it's hard sometimes to get copy editors to believe you when you tell them things like that, since of course copy editors are never wrong about anything...

[morea]

http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/2811/HyphensEtc.htm

http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/2912/Hyphenation.htm