Professional Document Translation Services from MTT

At MTT most of work we carry out is document translation, primarily in our main specialist areas of Technical (including Medical), Marketing and Law.

With over 30 years of experience, we know the kinds of questions to ask and the right linguists to work with to ensure your documents are translated accurately and reliably.

Why might I need a document translated?

Unless you deal regularly with contacts overseas, you might wonder why you would need to look online for a document translation service. If this is a new requirement, don’t worry, we’re always ready to offer advice and suggest the best way to help you get what you need.

We regularly deal with customers wanting to translate a document who are going on an overseas business trip. We’ll typically provide translated business cards, company information and contracts for example. If this is the first time you have needed this kind of document translation service, we’ll be happy to explain more about how we work.

A medical emergency while abroad can strike at any time – each winter we help clients with hospital reports following a ski injury or unexpected illness while on holiday. We also handle paperwork regarding overseas deaths, wills, probate and property sales.

If you’re looking to expand your client base by taking on a new market, we can help with advice and suggestions on marketing your products and services abroad. From a new website to full product information manuals and technical documents, we cover all commercial languages to help you make the most of your export opportunities.

Types of document translation

There are many reasons why someone may need a document translated and they generally fall into one of the categories below:

  • Translation for information

You have a Chinese manual and need to understand it to operate a product. A colleague has sent a report from an overseas office but it’s in German and you need to prepare a summary.

  • Translation for publication

Your company produces a piece of machinery for export and the instructions for use need to be professionally translated into Finnish to go with the item. You need to make sure the translation is accurate as safety is involved.

Your firm is going to an overseas trade show and want to hand out brochures and flyers in Italian to prospects. There’s no room for error or making a bad impression.

You have a Thai certificate which needs to be accepted by the Passport office or a court – you need to prove the translation has been done by a professional language translation company.

Your medical product is to be launched in the Netherlands and you need certified Dutch translations of the patient instruction leaflets to prove to the regulatory bodies that your translations are accurate.

Your website needs creating in Spanish to approach a new market – you’ll need to consider localisation, new pages and SEO research.

Formats handled

We handle documents for translation in a wide range of formats, from handwritten doctor’s notes and wills, to software files and technical drawings. Most commonly we deal with Office files (Word, Excel or PowerPoint) but we can also handle pdf documents and scans. There may be a small admin charge for handling non-editable documents, but we’ll always try our best to provide you with the most cost effective and time efficient service.

In general there is no need to provide the original of a marriage certificate for example, we can usually certify a photocopy.

If your document is in InDesign or Quark we can also handle typesetting for you. Just let us know when you ask for a quote and we’ll add that on as an option.

Translations will generally be returned by email, but can also be posted, sent by secure courier or hand delivered/collected if you are local to us.

Why should you trust MTT?

If you have your company’s reputation at stake, you’ll want to know you can trust your language supplier, whomever you choose to work with. Take a look at our Testimonials to see the kinds of companies we work with. Have a look at our Quality page to find out more about the certifications we hold or our Standard page to see what we expect from our linguists as a minimum.

We’d love to work with your company and we’re more than happy to answer any questions you may have about our project management team, our translators and interpreters and the services we offer.

Document translation rates – what will it cost?

We base our charges on the number of words in your document. The more you have, the higher the cost, so we really need to see it to give you a quotation. The price will also vary depending on language and in some cases a small admin charge is made to handle non-editable documents. Where appropriate we can sometimes offer reductions in cost for repetition of text within a document.

The best way to find out what your documents for translation will cost is to send them over to us (preferably in an editable format), together with information on the languages needed and any deadline we need to consider. We usually respond within about 2 hours and quotes are always free of charge.

Deadlines – how long will it take?

Professional document translation services work on the following basis: a professional translator working into their mother tongue can usually produce about 2000 words of finished text a day.

Having said that, we have several ways of working where we can return text back more quickly. We will of course only agree to do this if we are confident that we can produce a reasonable translated document for you, and some rare cases there simply isn’t enough time.

Accuracy

Our approved linguists hold a range of degree level qualifications and have had a variety of interesting careers. The one thing they all have in common is a passion for languages and the relevant experience to ensure they produce a high quality translation.  

 We particularly value translators who have worked in their industry and have had hands on experience with products or have done business across the world.  Specialist legal translators for example will usually have had some form of legal training and have attended additional courses specific to legal translation issues.

If you want to find out more about who will be doing your translation just ask – we’re happy to put you in touch to help reassure you that you’re in good hands.

Can you handle my document – it’s specialised

We are happy to undertake document translation in most areas - here are a few examples of the document translation services that we provide:

Accountancy & Finance – We regularly handle insurance documents, bank statements, sets of accounts for companies considering buy-outs, administration documents and the translation of foreign invoices. Legal firms often request accounts information to be translated, as do major firms of accountants.

Arts & Culture – We have translated tourist brochures, food & drink menus, advertising projects, fashion & design brochures, cosmetics reports, architectural and building surveys and music flyers.

Automotive & Transport – We regularly work in the automotive field translating technical manuals, concept car materials, maritime & aerospace press releases, accident assessor’s reports, user manuals, driver safety guides and technical drawings.

Business and Commerce – Although this area sees Google Translate being used more and more, when accuracy and reliability are critical our clients ask us to work on their tenders, housing information, local government papers, HR reports, training guides and economic studies.

Education – Many schools work with us to provide multilingual information to students and parents; we also work with some charities, providing ‘How to’ guides, and social & family case information.

Engineering – The main part of our business, we handle documents in the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, plastics, automation and tooling fields on a daily basis.

Environment – Again an important sector of our work, covering oil and gas, water, health & safety, mining, agriculture, agronomy and more.

I.T. – As the IT field develops, so the need for multilingual resources increases. MTT regularly work with companies to translate websites, telecommunications manuals, internet documentation and software files.

Legal – Local and international solicitors come to MTT for certified translations of litigation paperwork, probate forms, witness statements, criminal proceedings, property disputes, immigration documentation and insurance reports.

Marketing & Media – We love working with creatives, providing a highly skilled translation service for technical press releases, research surveys, sales documentation, brochures, flyers and business cards into a wide range of languages.

Medical – We have qualified translators working in the veterinary, healthcare, pharmaceutical, medicine, dentistry and pharmacology fields, translating patient notes, information leaflets, studies and more.

Science – Our specialists in physics, chemistry, patents, and mathematics handle technical manuals for robotic equipment, MSDS, datasheets for drilling products, adhesives and brake fluid and even text books.

Where should I get my documents translated?

Some companies worry about the need for working with a translation provider near their location, but in the majority of cases there is no real need to do so. Most translation projects are carried out over email and any certified hardcopies can be sent by registered post or courier if needed. We regularly provide document translation services across the UK and also have many international clients.

You are more than welcome to visit us at our offices, or, if you feel we would benefit from getting a better understanding of your business first hand, we would of course be delighted to visit your premises.

Contact us now to get started with your document translations. Call 0844 856 1086 or email [email protected].