So You Need A Document Translation Service. Now What?
Using a document translation service is always the best bet when you need a professional product translated for your business. The question is, how do you decide which company is the exact fit for what you need? Just like any other business decision, there are many considerations beyond price. You need to consider whether the company employs native speakers, how you can determine their rates, how fast you need your translation completed, do they specialize in the types of documents that you need translated, do they double check and proofread each document to ensure accuracy, do they use actual translators and not software, do they provide other services for you to utilize once you have established a working relationship and how many language pairs they focus on. This may seem like a lot of information to process at once, so here are some questions that will help to make the decision process easier.
Does the company employ native speakers? Some translation companies employ foreign language students or individuals who have learned your target language as a second language. Native speakers typically have a better grasp of the subtleties and complexities of their native language, which assures that all documents that are translated are accurate and easily understood by the target audience.
Does the document translation company display their rates up front? Many companies offer a quote only after you have sent them your documents. This can be very time consuming and labor intensive, especially if the documents have to be forwarded to a project manager before they can even offer a basic price for their services. Try to choose a translation company that puts their rates right on the website. If they are a legitimate company and have been around for a while then they should have nothing to hide.
Watch out for companies that promise unrealistic turnaround times for your project. Some document translation companies offer a 24 hour turnaround time. If it is absolutely necessary that you have your completed project in hand within 24 hours then you can discuss this with the company. The old saying that quality takes time is fairly accurate though. A rushed job can lead to quality control issues with translation just as with any other service.
Do they offer translation services for the types of documents that you need translated? A good translation service includes highly specialized translations. Your project will be assigned to a translator with background knowledge of your industry. If you have a legal document then someone who has experience in translation legal documents will translate your project. If you have a marketing brochure then a translator with a marketing background will handle your project. Always make it a point to ask about the specialized translation services the company offers.
Does the company double check and proofread each document to ensure accuracy? This may sound like a given, but as companies get closer to deadlines and take on even more clients in our global economy, typos and other errors can slip by if everything isn’t double checked.
Does the translation company use software for translations? Although online software will easily translate any document within seconds, the end product will always be of lower quality than a document translated by a professional translator. Quite often text that is machine translated is unintelligible to the reader. Only consider companies use actual translators to ensure the quality of your translated documents.
Check to see what other services the company offers. An example could include interpretation services. You never know which services that you may need at a later date and having a great working relationship with your translation service makes for an easier process all around. It will quite often save you money as well.
Lastly, how many language pairs does the translation company focus on? A company does not usually have hundreds of translators sitting in a building somewhere waiting for their particular language pair to be needed. Translation projects are contracted out, often to other countries. This can create difficulties with obtaining consistent quality. When you need your documents translated into a particular language, focus on a company that specializes in that language. This is one area where a hiring jack of all trades is not in your best interest.
David is the owner of Interlinguistics of Texas. Interlinguistics of Texas is simply your best choice in English to Spanish translation companies. Our translators are native Spanish speakers, which assures that all documents translated are accurate and easily understood by the target audience. No translation software is used in place of live translators.
All translation and interpretation is satisfaction guaranteed and are offered at an extremely competitive rate. Some of the items that we typically translate include brochures, plans, manuals, business correspondence, personal correspondence, immigration documents, term papers and school projects. We are also happy to provide interpreting services live or via recording.
English – www.interlinguisticsoftexas.com
Spanish – www.inter-tx.com
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