Budgets are tight these days. Although your piece of equipment may have cost many thousands to design, manufacture and ship to its intended overseas buyer, there may not be a lot left in your budget for the legally-required translation of the technical manual and potentially software or training course.
So, what can you do?
If you’re considering the problem at a point when the manual hasn’t yet been written, there are quite a few things that you could consider:
- Use photos or diagrams (think Ikea) instead of a description to reduce costs and time needed for translation
- Re-use wording from previous manuals if you’re happy it is correctly translated
- Make sure any words in images are editable or add key numbers so we don’t have to create an editable version
- Make sure your document is complete and final – changes at a later date can cause confusion and add to the cost
- Make sure your document is in an easily editable format e.g. MS Word and is simply laid out – complicated layouts and DTP programs such as InDesign will add cost and time to your project.
If your document has already been completed you might like to think about:
- Can anything can be removed/reworded if you have time
- Do you have any approved background material which could be used again as part of this project
- Does everything need to be translated, e.g. do technical drawings need to be translated or can they be left in the original language
- Are there any other manuals that you will need translating in the same language combination which could make a bigger project to potentially save money on inter-document repetition
We’ll always try to work towards meeting your budget and will be happy to discuss what we can and can’t do to assist, while still guaranteeing a quality, accurate translation.
You will certainly come across a wide range of quotations from different companies, so make sure you speak to them and make certain what is included and what’s not. We’re proud of our reputation for quality and accuracy and are very happy to offer a cost-effective translation service which meets your needs, using mother-tongue professional linguists who really know their subjects.
If you have a manual or technical document for translation and would like a quotation or just a chat to find out more about how we work, please get in touch now on 0844 856 1086 or email [email protected].