Multilingual DTP

When you think of translations, print is never the first thing to cross your mind. Even though there are so many instances when you need to send your translation to print (or even just have it formatted so it looks good in PDF, for example), it’s something that translation buyers rarely think about in advance. If you don’t speak the language, or even if you don’t have a graphic design team in-house – multilingual DTP (Desktop Publishing) is the service that ensures your translations fit the original format. So, here’s a little bit more info on the unsung hero of the translation industry.

How does multilingual DTP work?

Getting your translations printed sounds simple. But the more you think of it, the more complicated it gets. You’re probably wondering why? Well, let’s explain!

First of all, if you don’t have a graphic designer in-house, paying someone to input the translation into the format you need is an extra expense. As multilingual DTP can be handled as part of the translation process, you’ll have a set price and everything will be handled at the same time. Best of all, when you get your documents back, they’ll be ready to go.

If you do have a design team in-house, one of the things they find most difficult is dealing with languages they don’t speak – especially ones that use different alphabets like Chinese, Thai, Arabic, Hindi, or Russian. Knowing what goes where is tough, and without being able to understand what’s there, typos and other errors can slip through.

When you’re dealing with set formats, the chances are that space is limited. As no 2 languages are the same, the number of letters is going to change between the source and the original. If you have a set amount of space for the text to go into, changing the size of the text could prove really tricky. And that’s where multilingual DTP comes in. Rather than changing the layout, graphic designers who speak the language will be able to come up with a suitable alternative so that it fits without an issue.

What services can our multilingual DTP team help you with?

If you’re wondering where we can help you, here’s a list of the services our multilingual DTP team offer:

Taking care of the layout of your translation
Working with the following formats: InDesign, FrameMaker, Illustrator, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and Visio
Preparing uneditable files for translation (this can prove really useful if you’ve got a graphic/file that needs to be worked on but you don’t have the original editable format)
Preparing and recreating uneditable files for translation (again, if you’ve got diagrams etc. that need translating, we can help so you don’t have to make them from scratch)
Helping adapt longer languages so they fit into the original format
Recreating the layout of an uneditable file (scan etc.) if no editable format is available
Helping with left to right and right to left languages (e.g. Hebrew, Farsi, Arabic)
Dealing with edits and typesetting (having the translator type out text in a different
alphabet and then fitting this re-typed text into the requested layout)

A 5 step multilingual DTP checklist…

Choosing a partner to take care of everything from your translations right up to the graphics isn’t easy. You need to trust your partner and know that they’re doing all they can to ensure the best quality possible. After all, even the tiniest typo has the power to make and break and print campaign.

We understand your needs and the pressure you’re under to have everything perfect, which is why we’ve developed a 5 step multilingual DTP quality assurance process to do just that.

So, how do we do things?

Project Manager – Lead Linguist – Linguists. One of our PMs will analyze your project and help put together the right team for the job. They’ll also handle the pricing and turnaround times etc. with you. Once you’ve given them the go ahead, your project will be assigned to a lead linguist who’ll then oversee their team of linguists working on your project.
Proofreaders. Once the team have finished translating, it’ll then get passed over to our proofreaders. They’ll check the text to make sure it’s perfect.
Quality Assurance. Once the proofreaders have finished, we’ll perform stringent QA checks on the project.
Multilingual DTP. As soon as we’re happy with the quality of the translation, it’ll then go to our multilingual graphic designers for DTP.
Quality Assurance. And once it’s been completed, another round of QA will act as a final check/sign off.