How to get the best service (and spend less)

By considering the pointers below we can ensure that you get the best service quality that Planet language services is able to provide and, in general, get the results you need spending less.

Provide the translator with the context, so that they can better understand what it is about, especially in the case of machinery or technical devices (all the pages or the entire article, even if only a part of it needs translating, other articles, or texts, or photographs or drawings, even if they do not contain any text). If possible, provide other texts concerning the same subject-matter written in the target language, old obsolete documents for example.

Avoid sending in just lists of words or short descriptions taken out of context, as they could be impossible to translate, not being able to resolve the ambiguity of the terminology (in general one word can be translated using several other words in the target language, and only the context can resolve any doubts).

Allow enough time for the translation to be done. The translation will not be done well in half the time by doubling up the number of translators. Distributing the translation to several translators results in an additional effort of co-ordination and attuning, and can only be justified when the volume to be translated is considerable. With small volumes of work more time may be needed to ensure that the quality of the product does not suffer. Avoid incurring higher prices for urgent work by allowing enough time for the translation to be done well (as a guide a number of days equal to the number of pages divided by five, for an average job).

Remember: good translators are always loaded with work, and the translations made in hurry are never the best!

Specify a person within your organisation as a point of contact for any problems of terminology which may arise: different terminology exists not only from industry to industry, but also from company to company; inevitably each company has its own jargon, and abbreviations are often highly personalised.

Clearly define the consignee of the translation: a Brazilian does not speak like a person from Portugal, corporate management uses terms that are different from those used on the street, the layman cannot understand the specialist.

Send in the best possible copy of the text; if you only have a very poor copy of the original text to be translated, it is better to send it in by post, instead of using the fax. Difficult to read texts lead to mistakes in understanding especially when the context is not sufficient to suggest interpretations, as in the case of numbers and proper names.

Translation of the same text in various languages: have you considered the possibility of giving priority to one of the languages? so making a pilot, through which any problems in the text to be translated can be sorted out, thus reducing ambiguities, and making the work flow fast in the other languages?

And finally, create a long-term relationship and give us feedback on the work which we have done for you: in this way our results can be constantly improved, leading to our mutual satisfaction.

Our translation agency
Our services
Our translation process
How to request our services
A few suggestions
How to contact us
Working with us
Some useful resources
Site map