Translating Text Isn't Enough with DTP
In desktop publishing, companies need to take extra measures to avoid unnecessary errors
DTP translation is tricky. A transposed punctuation mark or incorrectly placed hyphen can alter the intended message. Really, there's so much more involve than "translation" with DTP (desktop publishing). Let's pretend that your company has hired a free-lanced translator to interpret a full-color brochure that will be handed out to potential clients in Taiwan. You asked her to be literal with the translation. She complied. The problem is a literal translation from English to Taiwanese doesn't work, and when the final product arrived, you realized too late that the verbiage has become too stilted, almost academia. Worst, your logo doesn't flow with the Chinese characters like it did with Roman characters. The brochure looks messy rather than professional, and in the global market, image is everything.
When dealing with brochures, ads and other DTP mediums, translating text isn't enough because issues are bound to arise. To start, there's the layout. When you translate from one language to another, the number of characters may change. This will impact the visual format. You may also be faced with cut-and-paste errors. Your company graphic designer may drop a phrase, jumble the syntaxes and delete punctuation marks without realizing it. This is why it saves time and money to hire a professional DTP translation company.
At Junction International, translators and DTP specialists provide not only valuable cultural feedback, but will also ensure that the integrity of the product is preserved. In other words, they layout and proof the product, from the text to the visual, to ensure nothing is lost in translation. And if needed, offer suggestions on how to strengthen the message.
Junction International also has a large pool of translators and DTP specialists, so whether you need to translate into another language or multiple languages, it can be done quickly and on time.
