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Guide to Using Professional Translation Firms

Posted February 27th, 2010 by admin

When you need a training manual, legal contract or scientific report translated into a foreign language, you can turn to a document translation company instead of freelancer to ensure that you are going to get a high-quality product. Professional companies have translators that specialize in different topics and industries such as medicine, health and fitness, marketing, law, engineering, and other branches of science. This means that you can get high quality translations whatever industry you are in. Below are some tips maximize the benefits that you get from document translation services.

1. Evaluate different quotes online Instant quotes are now being offered by translation firms online. Others may require you to send the details of your project and provide a more detailed quote in a span of 24 hours. This method provides allows you to compare the rates of different companies conveniently. Just make sure you review the terms and conditions or FAQs section of the company’s website so you understand their pricing structure, fees and surcharges that may apply to your services.

2. Verify if they offer localized translations. Some companies offer general translations from English to Spanish, English to German and hundreds of other languages, while others offer dialect translations as well. You might want to localize your documents if you are targeting a very specific region. General translations can easily be misinterpreted by those speaking a specific dialect.

3. Use their customer support services. Many document translation service companies offer customer support services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. You can easily get updates on your project and discuss pricing and quality issues with customer support. These services will save you a lot of time and keep your worries at bay.

4. Request a cultural competency assessment. Many translation service companies offer a cultural competency assessment or report as an ‘a la carte’ service. This type of assessment looks at your target market’s profile, and provides some solid information on the nuances, cultural trends and dialect that may pertain to your ideal customer. This service may be bundled in with your project for free or you can purchase this separately. Always ask a company if they offer this service. Consider getting one because this contains invaluable information about your target market.

5. Determine what the quality guarantee consists of. It would be better if you choose to work with a company that has a service guarantee. Read the conditions of their guarantee and know if their translators have the proper certifications and accreditations from reputable organizations. Qualified and experienced translators will delivery higher-quality work, so you can count on getting an accurate, well-written and edited document time and time again.

Working with a professional translation company is obviously a step above contracting a freelance translator. However, you can get more benefits from professional companies if you know what you are doing. Consider these five areas when you are narrowing down the field of choices for a translation company, so you can make the best decision for your business.

Tags: document translation, document translation services, translation, translation service, translation services