A technical translation service is the translation of technical documents in the field of IT, engineering, medical, or law. Professional translators deal with materials such as user manuals, and technical reports. As opposed to generic translations which require fewer skills, technical translation requires more skills to ensure the text is understandable by the target readers.
Companies and organizations looking forward to expanding to new territories will need technical translation services. For a company to build a professional reputation, it will need high-quality and accurate document translation. You have to consider a few things before signing a contract with a translation service.
Considerations when choosing a translation services
Type of documents
Is your company planning to expand to other regions or is it a scientific organization that requires translation of technical documents? For you to get the best service, you should know the type of records to be translated. They could be legal, patent, or technical. When you identify the type of documents, you can now approach a company that specializes in your papers.
Languages and cultures
Translation is not all about rewriting the text to another language. It has to consider the culture of the audience, local dialect, formatting, and jargon of the industry in that country. When you contact a translation company, mention the country and language of the target audience.
Types of Technical Translation providers
Translation companies
The greatest advantage of working with translation companies is they can handle many documents within a short time. Translation companies have many translators who specialize in different areas working for them. Therefore, an organization can be confident that their reports will be handled by experts in that field. In translation companies, papers go through several stages of translation which includes editing, proofreading, and quality control.
Freelance translators
If you want to cut out the middleman, this is an excellent option for you. However, freelancers cannot handle a lot of work within a short turnaround time. Also, they can only specialize in one or two languages. It is not a good option for busy companies that require quality work within a short time.
Bilingual staff
If a company wants to keep document translation in-house, hiring bilingual staff is an excellent option. It will also reduce overhead operational costs. However, it may be expensive for companies who need translation into many languages or those that want document translation once in a while.
Machine translation
It is a good option for basic translation. However, when it comes to official documents or marketing documents, machine translation is not sophisticated enough. They may not be able to translate documents accurately. Machine translation does not consider the culture or specific jargon of the target population.
Top four technical translation services
1. Net-Translators
The company provides comprehensive translation services to its clients. Their main area of translation is technical documents. They localize the content and offer SEO support to the customers. The company is famous for its software translation products. Net-Translators have a slow quotation speed, and their products are quite expensive. However, the team of translators at the company will go out of their way to ensure they deliver quality documents. The institution offers technical translation services in sixty languages.
2. Pangeanic
The company offers premium technical translation services to various areas such as finance, automobiles, video games, software, web translation, multilingual desktop publishing among others. Pangeanic is known for its dedication to providing quality services within a short turnaround time.
The company has been offering translation services for the last 20 years. It has translated more than 425 languages. Pangeanic believes in getting the first translation right. To achieve this, they hire professional translators to come up with the first draft. The aim of producing a high-quality first draft is to minimize the time for revisions and proof-reading.
The team of translators at the company can translate documents from different formats. They will extract the content to be converted using cutting edge technology to ensure the content is not altered in any way. The company provides proofreading services to clients who have created the first draft and need an expert to create the final version. Pangeanic has worked with big companies such as Hisense, Funai, Rolls-Royce, and ONAHOTELS.
Pangeanic design their cutting-edge translation and publication APIs and other sophisticated technology to reduce inefficient translations. The company is an excellent choice for clients with a lot of technical documents to be translated within a short time without compromising quality.
3. TransPerfect
The company was co-founded by Phil Shawe and Elizabeth Elting in their dorm room. It has offered translation services for the last twenty-five years. The headquarters are based in New York. It has 86 locations globally and an employee base of 4,000. The organization is dedicated to delivering quality documents to its clients.
TransPerfect offers translation services in twelve fields including technology, tourism, and travel in more than 170 languages. The company is widely known for its products such as multimedia services, web translation, and interpretation. They include local dialect and specific industry jargon in the documents.
As much as clients praise the company for providing excellent services, its employees are not happy. Satisfied employees make for satisfied clients. Therefore, if TransPerfect wants to remain on top of the game, it has to improve the working conditions of the employees.
4. Day Translations
It is an international translation company founded by Sean Patrick. Day Translations is headquartered in New York and has been operating for the past decade. It has over 60 locations in all the continents. The company offers thirteen translation services which include localization, interpretation, online marketing, and application testing.
Day Translations work with more than 270 languages. They serve 12 industries including medical, legal, and entertainment. The translation cost depends on the target language. Otherwise, the average price is $0.19 per word. The employees in the company are satisfied with their working conditions.
Conclusion
When it comes to choosing the best translation company, it is important to determine the company that matches your standards and budget. Technical translation services are not equal. TransPerfect, Day Translations, Pangeanic, and Net-Translators are among the leading players in the industry. Choose a company that provides the professionalism and customer support that you need.
