Client cooperation as a quality factor
My understanding of service implies that I endeavour to lighten the load of my clients as much as possible. Nevertheless, the client can make a decisive contribution to the quality of a translation. But don’t worry, in an efficient cooperation, we will find out quickly how you can easily contribute to an optimal translation quality.
Just a rough guide:
Despite all specialist competence on the part of the translator: some texts have a specific background and history that is not immediately evident from the text itself and cannot be googled. Nevertheless, the knowledge of such details may provide important information for the translation. Please do not withhold important information on the background, purpose and target group from your translator. I may have to enquire about it.
You are already in possession of material on the same subject in the target language and would like the wording of the translation to be adapted to your existing text(s)? Please, provide your translator with that reference material.
Your company has glossaries or style guides? These can contribute to the quality defined by your company.
Give your translator a contact for possible queries, maybe a second person for the case of prolonged absence.
If you need a translation of texts prepared by yourself/ by your company, please provide editable formats (MS Office applications) whenever possible. Ideally, all graphs can be edited, too. This helps to give a uniform appearance to the source and target texts and to save the translator’s time and the client’s costs. If you place an order for the translation of texts that are out of your control (e.g. correspondence from authorities), please make sure that the quality of the typeface is acceptable. This helps to convert pdf files. Pdf scans that cannot be converted do not only require formatting of the translation from scratch but also prevent electronic processing and benefiting from the quality advantages translation memories can provide.
Your text was prepared with a special layout programme, e.g. InDesign? Let us discuss other file formats, my translation memory software can process some formats which are not installed on my computer.
Please give feedback. That is how your future translations can meet your quality requirements even better.