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Supergirlofnc

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I have a quick question. I've noticed the abbreviations "ctn qty" followed by a number. I'm assuming the qty stands for quantity. But I can't find the meaning of ctn, and it's driving me crazy! If anyone would tell me, I'd appreciate it :)
 

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I'm struggling to see how your question has anything to do with editing, but I'll leave it here for now.

Can you give us some context? Where have you seen this abbreviation? Who uses it?
 

jeffo

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Cartoon?

Canton Railroad Company?

cotangent?

Indeed, the only time I've seen both those acronyms together, it's been for carton quantity, or quantity per carton.
 

Supergirlofnc

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I'm struggling to see how your question has anything to do with editing, but I'll leave it here for now.

Can you give us some context? Where have you seen this abbreviation? Who uses it?

Sorry, I wasn't sure where to ask it, and it seemed somewhat random.

I've just seen that abbreviation on several book descriptions - on publishers websites like Harper and Scholastic - listed with info like ISBN numbers, page numbers, book dimensions, etc. I couldn't find the answer online myself, and I was curious.

Thank you! I hope that helps.
 

Supergirlofnc

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Cartoon?

Canton Railroad Company?

cotangent?

Indeed, the only time I've seen both those acronyms together, it's been for carton quantity, or quantity per carton.

Thanks Jeffo. Cartoon Network was the one I found with Ctn.

When I searched, I did see the Ctn Qty mentioned with regards to more books than the one which made me wonder, but I didn't find anything else. If no one else knows either, I imagine it's nothing to wonder too much about.
 
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suki

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I've seen it refer to carton quantity -- ie how many of whatever can fit in a carton.

~suki
 

Supergirlofnc

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I've seen it refer to carton quantity -- ie how many of whatever can fit in a carton.

~suki

Actually, maybe that's it. I saw numbers like 36 and 72. And since it was listed by the book dimensions, it seems to fit. Thanks!
 

MandyHubbard

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Yeah, just wanted to confirm-- it would be carton quantity. IE, how many books are in a case. I see it all the time when I get my author/agent copies. :)

M
 

Jamesaritchie

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I should know this, but "ctn" can stand for about a hundred different things, from a tagged citation to a call tracking number.

In a business I've been involved with, I've seen Qty/ctn used to mean "in quantity, by carton", meaning that if you wanted to buy in large quantity you had to buy by the carton, not by some random number you might need. If you needed 969, and wanted the quantity discount, you had to buy 1,000 because the cartons contained fifty each.

I have not the faintest idea if this is the same meaning here, but if it has anything to do with editing or publishing itself, I'd love to have a definitive answer.
 

alexaherself

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"Ctn qty", in this context, is an abbreviation for "carton quantity".
 

Supergirlofnc

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Thanks everyone! Question answered. Curiosity sated.
 
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WeaselFire

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I have a quick question. I've noticed the abbreviations "ctn qty" followed by a number. I'm assuming the qty stands for quantity. But I can't find the meaning of ctn, and it's driving me crazy! If anyone would tell me, I'd appreciate it :)
Carton Quantity. Why you had to ask an editor is beyond me.

Jeff
 

alexaherself

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I wonder why it's often reversed, such as qty/ctn at the business I've been involved with?

The "/" symbol means "per". So that's just "quantity per carton" rather than "carton quantity". That's the version that might be more applicable to multiple cartons, perhaps, whereas "carton quantity" could be said to apply even to a single carton?

(Am I alone in thinking that this thread has probably fulfilled its useful purpose and run its course, by now?)
 

Jamesaritchie

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The "/" symbol means "per". So that's just "quantity per carton" rather than "carton quantity". That's the version that might be more applicable to multiple cartons, perhaps, whereas "carton quantity" could be said to apply even to a single carton?

(Am I alone in thinking that this thread has probably fulfilled its useful purpose and run its course, by now?)


I thought that was the case, but in all my years as a writer and and editor, I've never actually had to deal with this inside publishing.

Yes, I think this thread has now fulfilled its purpose.
 

Old Hack

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I'm one of the room mods and I LOVE this thread. Details like this are so important when it comes to writing convincing scenes. Great stuff.
 

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The special inventory readers that scan bar codes and UPC symbols then print out a record have special fonts and ctn / qty and qty / ctn and qty / pal (palette) are included as symbols.