How to cut deadlines and cost for your multilingual Desktop Publishing project?
In this speedy world, time to market has become a vital component of business success. Are you producing new print marketing collaterals? It is no secret that designing an original document takes time and energy. And everyone in your marcom department wants to use it as soon as it is ready. But… your organization needs it in many languages. And your graphical designer only has two hands. How can you speed up the process? The key is ‘automated print translation workflow’
What can one automate in multilingual typesetting, without compromising quality?
One thing is for sure, automation increases the process speed. But that's not all: it also reduces the risk of human error and, hence, improves quality. Automation can apply to several operations in the cycle of multilingual desktop publishing:
- Automating extraction from the graphical file of text content to translate.
- Automating import of that text content into a translation platform.
- Automating conversion of layout features into tags.
- Automating retrieval of text content parts translated and validated beforehand – if any. This would generally happen with a translation memory.
- Automating the injection of the translations into the Adobe InDesign layout or other graphical software
- Automating the administrative aspects of the translation job.
What is then left over for the human multilingual typesetter? Only some limited and easy manual interventions. A few examples? Enlarging a title frame to accommodate for the longer German version. Or reducing font size in tables so that lengthier languages can fit in. In other words, post-editing and fine-tuning. For those tasks, a junior graphical designer will certainly do. The cost reduction is obvious.
Which expertise should you expect from your multilingual typesetting services provider?
Do you want to get the most out of the above automation? Then use a Language Service Provider that combines expertise in:
- Adobe InDesign use and typesetting in the required target language
- Translations in many languages using performing Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools
- Translation workflow automation
Of course, the Language Service Provider you choose also needs to have:
- quality translation capacities in your target languages
- all the fonts needed for multilingual typesetting
- enough experience in similar assignments
Do you need many languages on one and only page?
Some of your marketing documents might need several languages grouped on the same page. Instructions for Use are a good example of such documents. They are often produced on a one-pager using small fonts and folded into the product packaging. That document type aims at reducing paper use and cutting costs. It is often intended to make things easier for the end-user as well.
There are several requirements to design and update such documents. Those include expertise in multilingual desktop publishing, experience in international typesetting and a good knowledge of the grouped languages. Be it only to take care of the typographic nuances of all involved languages.
At Connexion, you are sure to get the right person for the right job.
Do you have a graphical charter?
Has your organization been wise enough to have a graphical charter available? You can then be certain of a nice consistency in the look and feel of all graphical designs created. At least, as long as your multilingual typesetting service provider is able an willing to follow the guidelines. Graphical designers and typesetters at Connexion are used to working with corporate graphical charters, while keeping a certain room for creativity. As a result, you always get branded documents, that are clearly identifiable, still show individuality and distinction and are visually appealing.
What constraints must you consider for the multilingual typesetting of your packaging?
Packaging design can be very tricky and manufacturing companies know that very well. You have to take paper or cardboard thickness, cutting lines and folding lines into account. On top of that, you often need to group many languages on one and the same package. And not forgetting the need to have all texts legible. Meeting those challenges involves the capacity to communicate clearly with the print shops. It also requires a technical understanding of their printing press equipment. All that is part of the multilingual desktop publishing services you can count on at Connexion.
For which Languages will you find professional multilingual desktop publishing services at Connexion?
On top of to high quality specialized translations, you will find at Connexion advanced typesetting services in the following languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese Simplified (PRC), Chinese Traditional (Hong Kong), Chinese Traditional (Taiwan), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.