Common Challenges in Multilingual DTP projects

Common Challenges in Multilingual DTP projects

In the pre-IT days, enormous printing presses were required for printing, and if you needed images to go along with your advertising, it would take you a few more days to produce them. Both the text and the graphic had to be printed individually, which meant that they had to be taped together, copied, and finally printed. Isn't that a lot of work? Multilingual desktop publishing projects (DTP) are no longer difficult owing to computers with graphic capabilities and professional translation services at Language Services Bureau.

Translating documents and providing Desktop publishing (DTP services) poses a number of challenges especially in the case of visually creative and large documents. Whether you’re creating in Corel Draw, Adobe InDesign or Photoshop, adequate expertise is required to deal with the usual challenges. In this blog, we take a look at challenges in DTP translation services and how to overcome them.

Challenges

1. Fonts

The fact that your fonts are supported in English does not guarantee that they will be appropriate for your intended audience. Fonts may not support accented characters, letters, or complete writing systems when translating.

Fonts for European languages, Asian writing systems, and scripts like Arabic are to be handled in different ways. You'll almost always need to mix and match fonts if your list of target languages is lengthy. Lot of effort has been taken by @CDAC for developing and making Indian language fonts of very good quality available. This was an indomitable challenge since there are more than 13 basic scripts in the 22 official Indian languages! Depending on the final target audience, file formats, etc. the right kind of font can be selected. Many older versions of various DTP tools did not accept Unicode fonts and this becomes a challenge while working on older versions of such software as per the client's source files.

2. Text Length

Text shrinkage or expansion is a characteristic feature of translation with DTP service, that one can't avoid. When a document is translated, the length of words and sentences can alter, causing the structure of the document to be thrown out of control.

For visually appealing and creative documents, this can be especially unpleasant because of the meticulous consideration given to text length, font size, spacing, and other design considerations. It's possible to make this better or worse by experimenting with different font styles or sizes, which adds another level of complication to the issue.

3. Layout Changes

Our previous two challenges directly impact our number three. Layouts cease to work as a result of text growth in desktop publishing services projects. In fact, if the length of your words or sentences is drastically altered, you may find that your overall design is no longer cohesive. The layout of your DTP project is no longer valid when your text expands, resulting in design difficulties. As a result, your company's marketing materials may lack coherence. This makes it difficult to maintain brand consistency across several languages, which can be particularly problematic in advertising campaigns and other marketing materials where multilingual versions of the same document are to be published together - e.g. manuals or brochures with multiple languages..

4. Localizing Graphics

In order for your brand's visual identity to be successful, it is imperative that you have your graphics localised for your regional audience. Depending on your target audience, it may be as simple as changing the colours or symbols on your site but sometimes also using completely different images/icons which are more suitable for a certain locale. Your brand's concept can be lost in translation if this isn't done correctly since images speak louder than words!.

5. Engineering drawings/diagrams, flowcharts and images

Technical documents like machine manuals or user manuals often have drawings, diagrams, flowcharts and images with callouts and labeling. After translation, the same overflow of text or fitting the content into the available small space becomes a daunting task and can be resoled in multiple ways like reducing font size, using abbreviations, providing a key at the bottom - all based on the clients preferences. It is amply evident that all such tasks goes through at least 5-6 rounds of checks and QA testing before finalisation - add to it the time crunch which is a very normal phenomenon in large multilingual translation + DTP projects. Many a times, translators, proofers, designers, DTP experts, QA testers and Project Managers have to work in multiple shifts for an on time completion such that your product reaches you with a detailed multilingual printed manual in time!

Using services such as typesetting and layouts, graphics production, including content tagging, data conversion, XML publication, and infographics, a skilled multilingual DTP service provider can swiftly maneuver complex documents. To make things even better, they can do it in the language of your intended audience, which raises the overall appeal.

How Does Language Services Bureau Help?

Language Services Bureau provides a wide range of DTP services to help your papers stand out in print and online. To ensure an output of the highest quality, we rely on a variety of specialised applications in addition to the conventional Microsoft Office suite, including Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Visio. In addition, all of our expert graphic designers are trained in the use of InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and CorelDraw, as well as other applications like Framemaker.

Additionally, we offer unbelievable combis like complete translation, editing and proof-reading to ensure that our desktop publishing services are foolproof. With the employment of only native-speaking translators, we can guarantee the widest possible audience reach and acceptance for your content. Regardless of the scope or time frame of your project, our team at Language Services Bureau is ready to meet all your needs.