When you need a translation yesterday, you don’t want your project slowed down by avoidable bottlenecks.
The first step towards obtaining a speedy translation is getting a speedy quote, so today we’re sharing some reliable ways to ensure your project sails through the quotation phase as quickly as possible.
Editable file formats
The simplest and most effective way to get your project motoring is to supply the document for translation in an original, editable file format such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel or InDesign. Editable files are not only much easier for translators to handle, they can also be quickly analysed for word counts and repetitions without the need for time-consuming document formatting. In fact, with a 100% editable document, you can usually receive a translation quote in under four hours! We also advise that any text that doesn’t require translation, such as notes to the translator, is supplied separately. Where that isn’t possible, try to make it easy for us to identify and exclude for the purpose of analysis (for instance by keeping notes in a single column in Excel or as ‘comments’ in Word).
Not all PDFs are made equal
Only have a PDF? That’s ok! We can process and convert most PDFs into editable Word conversions. However, any OCR conversion will need careful checking for accuracy. PDFs that have been scanned, photocopied, photographed or converted poorly can be more difficult to work with and that means more time is required for formatting and correcting OCR errors. If you can source a better-quality version of your document prior to requesting a quote, be assured it will save time further down the line.
Images and diagrams
Another consideration is non-editable text contained within images, graphs and diagrams. Adding your own bilingual key, as an editable table adjacent to the graph or image, is a clever way of avoiding the problem. And where non-editable text can be left in the original language, let us know as this will speed up your quote.
For your next translation project, contact our friendly team to see how we can help you.
+44 1562 748 778
