If you frequently hire linguistic services, you know the first step is to request a translation estimate from a company in that area. But, considering that there are multiple vendor options on the market and several charging formats for this type of service, have you been making the right choice for your company?

First of all, it is important for you to know that if your purchase decision is always based on the cheapest translation estimate. Believe me: you may be making a bad investment of your company’s money! In addition to the price, it is important to evaluate some factors that contribute a lot for your business success, considering short and long-term results. That is why the search for a professional translation must involve evaluating different pre-requirements, starting with three elements found on every project: scope, price and deadline.

These three aspects compete among each other and, for this reason, they need to be very well balanced to reach a successful project. That is why it is a mistake to consider the lowest translation estimate alone or the shortest delivery term, or even disregard the optional services that would help to assure the highest quality level for each project.

How a translation estimate is made

The translation market is quite fragmented. Consequently, you may find widely varying offers when hiring these services. The options vary from freelancers who master a specific language and provide translation services formally or informally, up to professional agencies with a cutting-edge technological infrastructure, specialized professionals in different areas and a wide range of native translators, categorized by nationality, language and specialization area. That is why you need to evaluate and compare which option may better fit your needs and expectations.

On today’s article, we will discuss specifically the translation estimate and show why this subject needs to be considered and acknowledged when evaluated.

To begin with, the translation estimate may be made based on different types of charging. Get to know how the most usual ones work:

Charging by words: the translation estimate based on the value by word is the method used by the main translation companies on the market, since it observes the international translation services measuring standard. This format may be quite advantageous for you, since it makes clear the actual work effort that is being charged. In addition, you may benefit from the time and cost savings, resulting from the re-use of repeating words and translations already made previously by the company, thanks to the use of translation tools, software where the linguists translate the content into the target language.

In this model, a detailed analysis of the file is made, considering not only the text, but also images, subtitles and other elements. With the word-counting format, the client benefits from the precision of the estimate and the “bonus” of reduced terms and prices. The more content the client translates, the larger the translation memory will be, therefore, the client’s savings tend to increase as well.

Charging by translated page: another method is charging by translated page, one of the oldest measuring methods that dates back from the time of the typing machine. Usually, one translated page corresponds to one type page with approximately 1,250 characters, including spaces. Therefore, those who choose to use this method as their charging method have a fixed value per translated page. This format is quite outdated and inaccurate.

The variables of a translation estimate

Did you know that the value of a translation estimate may vary according to the scope and needs of the estimated project?

For example: when the deadline is an extremely important factor for the job, you may hire a translation agency that will allocate more than one professional to translate the content simultaneously, which may increase a bit the translation estimate. The best solution for situations like this is to get in touch with a professional translation company whose collaborators include the best linguists on the market.

Another advantage of translation companies is offering a range of additional services, which you may or may not choose to hire, according to the need and visibility of each project. Greater than the possible changes they may offer to the translation estimate are the benefits that the services will provide.

The main additional services are:

Extraction: this stage is recommended when a document to be translated is a non-editable file, that is, a PDF file or image files. It consists in extracting the text from the original file and turning it into an editable format, such as a Word document. In this case, the content is extracted as simple text, without visual elements and, once extracted, it will be ready to be inserted into the professional translation tools, where the work will be carried out by the translators.

File redesign: when the material to be translated has a closed format and you need it to be returned with the same layout as the original document, it will be necessary to “redesign” the file with an open format, considering all the visual and text elements, so the end file translated remains with the same layout as the original document. This is what the redesign offers: it allows you to obtain the editable version of a non-editable file, such as PDF or image files.

Review: conducted by a second linguist after the translation, this stage saves the client’s work hours by eliminating the need for the clients to use their time to conduct this task. That is,

if you do not have available time to review the translated material, the safest choice is to count on a partner who can do this.

Consistency check: this stage assures the construction and maintenance of each client’s discursive identity, not only in one text, but across all files from the same translation project. This stage validates the terminological and structural issues of the material, and may also be associated to a meticulous terminology check and/or to the standardization of structures of similar or identical sentences on a translation.

Language check: it consists of an automated spelling check conducted by Quality Control tools, which makes it possible to identify typing errors, verbal agreement mistakes or any grammatical deviations that may have occurred during the human or machine translation. After checking, the tool indicates the points to be analyzed through a report so they are verified by internal linguists working for the company that is conducting the translation.

LSO (Language Sign-Off): during this stage, a target language linguist analyzes the translated content in final design format, aiming to validate it in the context where it will be used. For such, the linguist seeks to check all layout elements and simulate the user’s experience with the finished material, before publication, eliminating potential mistakes that might be noticed by the customer after the material’s release or publication. The LSO service is indicated specially for materials with high visibility.

SME (Subject-Matter Expert) Review: aiming at minimizing the client’s review activities, this additional service to the translation is conducted by a specialist on the specific subject of the project, who will not only focus on the text, but also on the market where the product will be inserted. By hiring the SME Review, your translation will not only count on an experienced translator on the source and target languages, but also on a professional with expertise in the subject-matter in question.

Glossary creation and management: constituted by a personalized list of the most complex and recurring terms of your company, the glossary helps to maintain the terminological standardization among projects. In order to create them, professional agencies analyze the documents to be translated and extract the main term to, then, suggest translations that will be sent for your approval. From there, you will be able to inform your preferred translations or the translation already used as standard by your company in order to be inserted on the list.

Memory maintenance: translation memories are databases that store all segments already translated for each client, which may be sentences, paragraphs or even isolated terms. They are created and updated according to certain criteria, such as a specific language pair and the client’s terminology preferences, and they allow the reuse of translations that have already been made. This leads to cost reductions, increased productivity, and terminological and structural consistency among translations.

Can you see how the value of a translation estimate is not the only element that sets the area vendors apart? You must consider the offer as a whole and the benefits that a good-quality service will offer to your business.

Therefore, when looking for a translation agency, choose a partner that is able to create the best strategy for your company! To learn more, click here and read the full article we wrote about the mistake of choosing a translation agency based solely on price.

About Netwire

Founded in 2000, Netwire is a multilingual solution enterprise that provides translation and localization into any language in the world. Headquartered in Brazil, the company has an office in Argentina and a presence in North America and Europe. With robust infrastructure involving state-of-the-art technologies and the best professionals in the field, Netwire ensures high volume processing at high quality standards with quick turnover, precise control and project management, rigorous selection of native translators in every corner of the world, rapid learning of client preferences, secure and real-time data storage, information traceability and on-time delivery of the final material.

This solid foundation underlying Netwire’s services ensures a superior level of quality over other translation agencies in the market. In the past five years alone, the company processed over 110 million words, delivering an average of 400 projects per month. This experience has increasingly awakened the interest of global brands that comprise its portfolio of clients and positioned Netwire as the ideal company to meet any translation demand. Request an estimate via website or by telephone and guarantee the best solution for your business!