Depending on the expansion or compression rate of each language combination, the length of translated text is different from the length of the original. It can get longer or shorter, depending on the language combination, and so the layout of the translated document does not perfectly match that of the original. If a paragraph gets longer in a Word document, so that the entire document gets longer, this is usually not a big deal (although it can be, for example if a client is producing bilingual text side by side, and the length of the two sides have to more or less match). But if the translated text in an image extends beyond the original boundaries and becomes illegible, this is clearly a problem that needs to be solved.
Post-DTP proofreading is also very important in a translation project as the translation team gets a chance to see the translation in its final form, which they otherwise do not have. This enables the team to spot problems they could not foresee in the course of translation.
Underestimating the importance of DTP is dangerous. When a translated document looks terrible, the client will not care how good the actual translation is.
DTP in Microsoft Word
DTP in Word is usually the simplest of all possible DTP routes. Clients may even wonder whether something sounding as serious as DTP is really necessary for a simple Word file. The good news is that we offer DTP as a separate service. If clients do not want to pay for DTP and believe they can do it themselves, we simply deliver a raw, unformatted translation.
Often, a translated Word document does not have any formatting, for example files used as an intermediate format for importing in a master document. In this situation, typesetting is not required at all.
DTP in Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint files are usually more challenging in terms of DTP than Word files. Because there is no flow of text between the pages as in Word, PPTX files are not well suited for text expansion. When the translation gets longer than the original, it expands past the boundaries of the original text boxes and displays incorrectly. Font types and sizes need to be adjusted as well as text layout in slides.
Another common problem is images. A typical PPTX file contains non-editable text in images, which is more challenging to handle than regular text. You need to extract the text from the images into an intermediate format first, so that a translation team can work on it. Otherwise, they will leave this non editable text untranslated. Inserting the translation back into the image is also tricky.
DTP in Adobe InDesign and other DTP software formats
Typesetting with professional software is the most challenging, and hence most expensive as it requires special skills. InDesign is used for more complicated design tasks that cannot be accomplished with Word, so the DTP process is more complex with this software.
Post-DTP proofreading
All files should go through some form of proofreading. A reviewer, preferably someone from the original translation team, may work directly in the file. With more complex formats, a DTP specialist may export the document to a PDF, the reviewer will review this PDF and add instructions and requests for edits, which the DTP specialist will then implement.
Both DTP and post-DTP proofreading are services that are separate from translation so they are not included in the translation rate. This allows clients to skip them or do them on their end. Bear in mind that rules for text organization, layout and hyphenation vary from one language to another. DTP experts who only work with English documents usually don’t know the rules for other languages. In Alpha Omega Translations, we work with DTP teams who are specialized in Romance, Asian, Arabic, and other languages that use different characters and follow their own specific rules.
For an overview of our translation expertise, visit our desktop publishing service page.
