Translation and Desktop Publishing: Two different animals
Tips
5/17/2011
You’ve invested a lot of time and energy in perfecting the look and feel of the English version, so why wouldn’t you expect your translation partner to do the same?
A good language service provider appreciates the importance of expert communication and knows it doesn’t end with the translation. This is where a professional and experienced graphic team steps in – one that not only understands the nuances of language but also has a thorough knowledge of the desktop publishing and print processes.
Fonts. Hyphenation. Text expansion. Page size. Application. Platform. These are just a few elements that come into play when localizing printed collateral. Because most professional translators are skilled at one thing – translation – desktop publishing should be left to a professional graphic artist. By allowing your translator to prepare the layout, you may be disappointed in the outcome. All too often, a translator does not understand the intricacies of layout and the desktop application used. The translation may be excellent but the layout is far from that!
To overcome this problem, Omni has developed a unique solution in which translation and layout are as automated and seamless as possible. Our process saves time and money, creates less potential for human error, and maintains the impact of the original product. By exporting copy from the native application – such as InDesign – to a tagged file, we can translate, verify, and allow client review and approval, all in corporate-friendly MS Word. The final copy is then imported back into the native application, thus maintaining the design integrity of the source document.
Using this process for over 10 years, Omni has been drastically reducing the man-hours spent on each project, while maintaining design consistency between the original and localized materials – regardless of language, desktop application, and platform.
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