Get your translations back quicker
Everyone wants their translations back quickly. Or even quicker than that!
There are a number of factors that influence what is actually feasible: volume of text, complexity, availability of the optimal translators and proofreaders, etc. There are, however, some measures that you, the client, can take, which can help you get your vital translations back sooner.
Here are 6 simple tips:
Socrates may have thought that “Confusion is the beginning of wisdom”, but it’s a step that we’re happy to miss out.
Clearly inform us of what is to be translated, the target languages required, the preferred delivery date, any formatting requirements, and of anything else that might be relevant, and we’ll be able to get started straight away rather than having to ask follow-up questions.
On the topic of the delivery date, be realistic! As a rule-of-thumb, a translator can translate 2000-2500 words per day, depending on the complexity of the subject matter. You also need to factor in some time for the essential proofreading stage.
→ Immediate start without additional info needing to be sought
→ No confusion or mistakes
→ Quicker turnarounds
Forewarned is forearmed! If you let us know enough in advance that you have an urgent translation job pending, we can make sure that we have the necessary resources free for you.
Give us clear instructions and we’ll be able to start as soon as we receive the source documents, instead of perhaps having to wait until the relevant translators become available.
And then please send the texts when you told us you would send them!!
→ Immediate start
→ Quicker turnarounds
It may seem obvious, but the earlier you send us the text, the sooner you’ll get the translations back!
Don’t leave translation to the last minute and then hope that it can be done in the shortest possible time. A good translation requires time.
And try to avoid sending texts a few minutes before close of business. Send them earlier in the day and you may well save 24 hours.
→ Get texts back up to 24 hours earlier
→ Improve quality without time stress
Few things slow down the translation process more than sending revised versions. The “new” version needs to be reprocessed, re-analysed and resent to all the translators. Try, wherever possible, to only send the absolutely final version.
If a source text needs to be approved by someone else in the organisation (e.g. technical documentation, marketing, a superior, the board), then please get approval before sending us the document.
→ No time lost reprocessing updated versions
→ No risk of confusion about which is the latest version
→ No unnecessary additional costs
By providing neat and well-formatted source texts, not only can you save on translation costs and get neater and more professional translations back, you can also get them back quicker!
By editable, we mean no PDFs or images, unless absolutely unavoidable. Converting non-editable documents takes time and adds to the translation costs.
We covered this in detail in “How to” Tip #1. Read more about it here.
→ Lower translation costs
→ Quicker turnarounds
→ Better matches with your translation memory
→ Eliminate copy/paste errors
We all work in different ways, and there can be perfectly good justifications for why a document might contain already translated text as well as source text that still needs to be translated.
It might be a Word document where new paragraphs have been added or segments changed. Or perhaps a complicated Excel spreadsheet with numerous worksheets, multiple languages, and a myriad of columns, many of which don’t need to be translated.
It’s all well and good, and we have a wealth of experience in dealing with such situations. But if you want your translations back in hurry, it’s best to send just the text that needs to be translated. That way we don’t use valuable time sorting out the source document, but instead get straight on with the job at hand.
→ No time lost “hiding” text that doesn’t require translation
→ No risk of confusion about what is to be translated
So, start getting your translations back quicker now! If we can assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
