A translation project can have a lot of moving parts
Text files with thousands of words. Formatted files for specialized uses like surveys, eLearning courses, software UIs, and documentation. Audiovisual elements including voice-over and subtitles. Desktop publishing. Image captions. Web sites. And on and on.
Do you need multiple specialist vendors to handle these elements? Do you want to manage them?
Probably not, if you want to save money, hit deadlines and maintain quality standards across multiple languages. The answer is integration.
Integration ties this all together
As a fully integrated language service provider (LSP), Language Intelligence provides an end-to-end solution for your complex translation projects. In addition to translation we offer:
Project Managers experienced in all of these issues
Synchronization with your authoring tools to maintain formatting and delivery options
Audiovisual services including; voiceover recording, video and audio editing, and subtitle editing.
Multilingual desktop publishing using the same software and file formats used with your originals
Software UI localization at the coding level
In other words, we handle it. That is integration.
Can you find a graphic designer who speaks German? How about a video editor?
Why is this important? Let’s look at a couple of scenarios. First, a common issue in translation: text expansion. You deliver an InDesign file of a 100 page user manual in English for translation into German. The German version is going to contain as much as thirty percent more text (German uses longer words!). That could mean the German version is 30 pages longer! So, two things can happen:
Your translation-only vendor asks for a text file, translates it, and delivers the greatly expanded text file. Now a graphic designer has to redesign the entire project. The problem is that they need to understand what the content is. Is it a call-out on an image? A numbered list? A picture caption? Will it even fit into the original design? Do you need a German-speaking designer? How do you know their work is accurate?
You send the InDesign files to an integrated LSP like Language Intelligence. We translate, review, problem-solve the text expansion (something we deal with on a daily basis) at the design stage, have the content, in context, reviewed by a native speaker, and then delivered it to you, in its original format ready to be published.
Which of these scenarios offers the most potential for delays, cost overruns, and quality issues?
We work in the same software tools you do
Now imagine you create specialized content like market research surveys or training materials. It is very likely that you create in software tools designed specifically for these end-products, tools that are not in wide use like InDesign. A couple of scenarios show up here too:
With market research time is almost always critical. Turnaround has to be fast and the product (the survey) has to be ready to deliver to the desired market segment ASAP.
Training and eLearning courses often contain video and audio content, lots of images, quizzes, and progress checks, etc.
We probably don’t have to spell out the issues that can arise here with multiple vendors or even integrated LSPs without experience in these specialized delivery formats. If you are creating eLearning courses (for example) in an application like Articulate Storyline or documentation in a DITA CCMS* you need your translated files to flow right back into these working environments, ready for publishing (distribution).
*DITA CCMS: Dita is an information architecture used to organize technical writing by type (task, reference, concept). CCMS is a component content management system used to organize and publish DITA XML content. Confused? Understandable, but if you use a CCMS, you know. We speak that language…
Project management is not just managing translators
Our project managers evaluate your content, help assemble quotes, work with translators, coordinate native speaker review, and oversee desktop publishing and AV editing, among other things. They are subject matter experts in specific content disciplines, including eLearning, market research, documentation, regulated life sciences content…which means you are not paying them to learn your processes and requirements. They’ve done it already and this means higher quality results and faster turnaround times.
Total customer experience is not just business-speak
We pride ourselves on actually delivering everything we promise. 30 years in the business has taught us that happy customers are loyal customers. Not just satisfied, happy. What does that mean? It means you should find it a pleasure to work together with us. We’re not just integrated, we’re right here getting your project done and problem-solving for you. That’s the real definition of integrated…
Looking at a complex, multi-language project with a tight deadline? Talk to us. We can make your life easier.