How fast do you really need it?
Why is speed in translation so important? We find that most projects are “urgent”. Sometimes this is entirely justified, as in the case of an imminent trade fair, client presentation, website launch, or contract signing. By contrast, some deadlines are entirely unjustified! Often, it’s because an unrealistic boss has randomly set a deadline, or maybe because someone left it till the last minute.
Either way, urgency is bad for any type of project, not least translation and documentation. Rushing to get something finished increases the probability of stress, errors, and, most importantly, less-than-optimal results.
Plan ahead
Generally speaking, the earlier in the documentation process you think about translation, the better. Typically, people think about translation only when the source language is complete and finalised. At this point, we have probably thrown away the possibility of saving considerable amounts of time and money.
This is particularly applicable in projects with non-standard formatting requirements. In practice, this means anything other than Office applications. For example, HTML and other web formats, or QuarkXpress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe FrameMaker, etc. Speed in translation requires quick and smooth formatting.
Plan for speedy updates!
QuickSilver goes above and beyond the call of duty and foresees your future needs. For example, if we know that you update your catalogue every quarter, we will create a project-specific process which will automatically flag the segments that need to be translated every time, instead of having to re-translate the entire document.
This process not only saves time and money but builds in consistency across the board and eliminates the possibility of errors. We work hard to add value for our clients!
