Valuable Dtp Partnership For Translation
A search in any translators' discussion forum will reveal that now and then some
less-informed clients expect the 'translation' of a rather complex publication will be no less than an exact replica of the original in a different language.
Some translators simply say 'no' and deliver plain text as usual. Others, having once stated that their clients rule, decide to face the challenge... and get frustrated at first, and desperate later, when the deadline comes nigh. Here are some ideas to emerge a winner from such situations.
The case is about a translator's client who has a publication in language "A," and needs to have the same in language "B." It may be a product catalog, a spec sheet, some user or service manual, a company newsletter, whatever that has both text and illustrations.
How it was done in the old days
A most interesting aspect is the presence of actual paper only at the beginning-the original-and at the end-the fully-featured translated print. But the key point is the translator's computer being able to do the whole job. What some clients fail to realize is that the translator, him or herself might not have been trained to do it economically.
Translators already do a lot, using mostly a word processor, CAT tools and their translation memories, glossary managers, both on-disk and on-line dictionaries, web searches, e-mail, etc. To require them to work with graphic arts might be pushing the envelope.
So the client is misled into thinking that any translator will be able to eke out a completed publication, worst of all. at no additional cost! This is what often leads translators willing to take the extra step to offer good service to discover that this step will require them to cross a wide, and often deep river.
It's not so bad, but sometimes it's bad enough
I am not asserting that each and every publication has to undergo desktop publishing. Many sizeable books have been properly rendered in their final form with a word processor. If it's just text, maybe one or another loose illustration here and there, there is no problem in doing it this way.
However when one sees text giving way to illustrations, some of them irregularly shaped; when the text, regardless of its meaning, is an expression of art, when text interacts with images or is part of them, it's time for DTP.
Of course, a
translator can learn to do DTP with the proper software, but many colleagues have agreed with me that it is just like learning another language. Is it worth it? If it is, in other words, if you have enough demand for this kind of work, get started! If you get such requests only now and then, and every time it's with a different computer program, simply find ways to outsource it.
Let's assume that your intent is to go on translating, but you will outsource the DTP work whenever it's not practical, economical, or feasible to provide the final desired output from your word processor.
Yes, you may think that this is your client's problem: you just have to deliver the translated text.
The linguistic savvy of your DTP person is not for proofreading. As a matter of fact, he shouldn't be expected or allowed to change one single comma in your text. But this will spare you from a very tedious job: marking text cross-references.
Assuming you have found an adequate person or organization to meet your needs; it's time to build the team.
Get to know your partner "technically": What hardware/software do they use? What is their acceptable input and possible output formats.
At this time, you can't give them much information about the specific job, unless you already have one at hand. However you can enlighten them a bit about your language pair, for instance how much in average the text expands or shrinks in the process. If it expands, you can discuss hyphenation issues, so that they can get the proper dictionaries installed.
Original for
translation received
The "original" that was formerly a wad of paper, neatly bound or loosely held together with a rubber band, now can have varied shapes.
Obviously, it's still possible that it will be a printed booklet or folder, which will require scanning for extracting the illustrations, as well as for OCR-ing the text, so you can use your preferred CAT tool. Which of you is better equipped for each of these operations? Chances are that the DTP-er has a better and faster scanner. If they don't handle OCR, just ask them to provide you with page scans that your OCR software will handle. They will need at least 300 dpi, and though many OCR programs work well at 150 dpi, your scanned text will have fewer errors.
The most popular format nowadays is the Adobe Acrobat PDF. It stands for Portable Document Format, because these files can be opened by the freeware Acrobat Reader program, which exists in various versions.
Don't even think of translating directly into a PDF file. The results, if any, are not worth the effort it will take. The only sensible way is to re-create the file in some other program and distill its output to a PDF file.
You, the translator, will translate as usual. Discuss with your DTP partner how they want to receive your text, and be ready for a surprise.
While you are translating, it is possible to gain some time by having the DTP-er working in parallel, preparing all the illustrations and assembling the publication to eventually receive your text.
Once everything is ready, it will be time to prepare the output requested by the client. If it's printed hardcopy, either the DTP-er can do it, or it should be sent to a bureau.
Aunes Oversettelser AS has been in the business for 26 years, and we are specialized in technical translations. We are specializing in the Nordic languages, and can offer services into Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic. The premier translation agency for Norway and the Nordic region! Technical translation services for businesses in the Nordic countries and translation agencies world-wide.
by: carmen
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