Technical services translations

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The price for a technical translation

We work with closely calculated and competitive prices. For a detailed listing, see the menu option Prices. When you select the target language for your document, the price for the translation into the respective language appears. Thanks to our solid base of translators and our knowledge of the market, we can offer you reasonable prices, which are often below the price level of other translation agencies.

Speed and quality

When you entrust us with your technical translation, you get the text back in your hands quickly. We take advantage of the different time zones in which our translators work, which often allows us to have your translation done while you sleep. Then, it’s in your inbox when you get up in the morning.

Translation of User Manuals, Handbooks, and Work Instructions

• Our expertise with: computers, software, networks, programming and telecommunications

  Translation of software is a particularly specialised area of language translation, requiring experienced project managers knowledgeable about how software strings integrate with a user interface and, therefore, able to ensure that the resulting translation is bug-free and ready for release. Software strings are often subject to user-interface character restrictions, with certain languages requiring special treatment of compound words and special extended characters.

  Our team of language engineers has over 20 years of experience working across a wide variety of software platforms and languages. With hundreds of software projects under our belt, we are confident in our ability to overcome even the trickiest technical software issues. Of course, with software translation, it’s not the source code which needs translating but the user interface. Software translations often contain a significant number of repetitions, with particular phrases referred to several times, so we start by isolating the text for translation and running it through our translation memory software to establish a total word count on which to base our quotation. We can often significantly reduce the number of words for translation and save our clients’ time and money. For clients who come back to us time and time again with updates, the savings are even more substantial since we isolate any new text from that which we’ve already translated and stored in our client-specific translation memories.

  As with any technical translation, we will select the right translator based on not only the language but also the subject matter of the translation.

  Website translation is a particular area of expertise for our team of translators. Our clients are frequently surprised by how little it can cost to have their web pages localised. Before we start any website translation, we will first discuss which elements of your website need translating and for which target audience.

• Professional translation of CSV files – What needs to be considered?

  CSV stands for comma-separated values or character-separated values. As the name implies, the values here are separated by characters. There is no official standard for using this file format, but it is thoroughly explained in RFC 4180. CSV files are quite appropriate for translations, although there are certain things that still need to be taken into consideration.

  Which system uses CSV?

  As a rule, proprietary systems and applications use the CSV file format. Texts are frequently exported from databases, such as in content management systems, with the aid of a CSV format. Databases can use a wide range of formats for importing and exporting, while CSV is the simplest solution. For better control of the structure, an XML format that can be populated from a CSV data file is appropriate.

• Character sets or code page

  A character set, also called a code page, defines a mapping of numbers and characters. Unicode is the format most frequently used, and UTF-8 is the coding most frequently used for Unicode characters. If UTF-8-coded CSV files are used, these can be translated into any language. This also works with other character sets, but you need to be aware that a CSV file contains no indication of the format in which it is coded. This can lead to problems.

  If the file is in ANSI format with the Western European character set, for instance, and is to be translated into an Eastern European variant, you quickly realise that these have other characters for the same codes. The possible ways of translating in ANSI format are thus limited. For that reason, it is advisable to use Unicode, such as UTF-8, from the start.

• Which data can be put into a CSV file?

  Basically, anything that is text-based can be put into a CSV file. Our project managers already have experience in projects with HTML and XML in CSV files. Both work without a problem. However, we once had a case where standard tools were used to export a file in the CSV format. At first, everything looked fine, but then we discovered that the tool could not export any fields with more than 32,768 characters. Such difficulties are special cases, of course, and rarely occur. In this case, we were able to notify the client in time and thus prevent further problems.

  If you need translations of CSV files, count on our IT specialist translators to deliver quickly and accurately. Contact us for a no-obligation quote.

• Case: PLC – programmable logic controllers translations

  Complex texts, such as those from technical fields, should always be translated exclusively by experienced, native-speaking translators who also have the relevant technical expertise. This is especially true of PLC technology or PLC programming.

  The translator needs to know the exact terminology to provide an accurate translation. He or she must also be able to follow and comprehend the text and make it understandable in the target language.

  To ensure that your PLC or other technical texts are always translated precisely, we only choose translators with relevant experience. With our large network of translators at our disposal, this is an easy task for us. You can be sure that the translator chosen for your project will be well-versed in PLC programming.

  Contact us, and let us convince you that we have the expertise you need. Send us the text you want translated via email or the request form for a no-obligation quote or direct order.

• Case Study: Intelligent Use of Terminology in Pallet Robot Software Localisation

  Our Project Manager, Erwin, interacts with technical translations on a daily basis. He is an experienced project manager responsible for all the projects from one of our clients in the pallet industry. The company makes robots that are used for loading and unloading pallets. These robots are controlled by special software.

  Our task was to translate the terminology associated with these software controls. We received an Excel list with highly technical terms specific to the pallet industry. The client did not provide context for the terminology. We had to translate the terms from English into Dutch, Russian, Polish, and French.

  The technical language was too challenging for other translation agencies

  Like any other technical field, the pallet industry also has its terms that a layman doesn’t necessarily understand. The client finally came to us after several attempts with other translation agencies. The company was looking for an agency that would be able to provide translations using the correct technical language.

  We put together a team of experienced technical translators who created a translation memory (TM) for our client

  Translation memories are reusable terminology databases that save time and money. They ensure consistent use of terminology throughout different translation projects. TMs can be bilingual or multilingual. Once created, they can be reused and updated with every new translation project.

  By creating and reusing terminology databases, we were able to assist our client in selling its machines on the German market. We also created TM’s for pallet industry terminology in languages of limited dispersion, such as Dutch.

  Our project manager has many years of experience not only in translation and project management but also in the retail industry, where he had to deal with the automated loading of pallets on a daily basis. Thanks to his interest in technology and his educational background in microelectronics, he speaks the technical language and understands how pallet robots work. A full-time team of project managers helps him deal with translation requests in the pallet industry sector.

References and Clients

Below is an overview of some organisations for which we regularly provide translations.