How Long Does It Take For A Translation Agency To Translate A Document
Translation is quite a tricky job. While most people would agree that it all focuses only on the quality and accuracy, there are some instances wherein a client may demand an output fast. For such cases, agencies usually offer different kinds of turnaround time. However, there are certain factors that could seriously affect the final output of a particular project.
Some translators claim that they can translate a 2000-page document in less than an hour. While that might be true for some, there are certain factors to consider on how they were able to arrive at that amazing turnaround time. For proper agencies with thousands of years of experience under their belt, there are certain variables and factors that affect the overall turnaround time of a particular project.
Language.
The first factor is language. To be more precise, the agency’s proficiency with that chosen language. Some agencies are expert in a particular language, say for example German, Dutch, or even French. However, they lack proper training when it comes to oriental languages like Chinese, Korean, or Japanese.
When people think about translation, what they usually perceive is that converting a document from a different language to English since it is the universal language of the world. However, there are some instances when clients want to translate a Dutch document to Mandarin. Due to the increasing amount of attention, especially regarding trade, towards China, there is a growing number of businesses that want to do business in the country.
In cases such as this, when an agency is not adept at a particular language, what they do is outsource it into a different agency. While this is a generally accepted practice, what most people do not understand is that it greatly diminishes quality.
Our company supports more than 100 major languages. We have a steady pool of highly-skilled translators that ready 24/7 to process any translation job.
Length.
Another major factor that affects turnaround time is the length of the document a client wants to be translated. A 2000-word document can be translated relatively easy within a couple of hours. However, a 200,000-word document will take a couple of days to be finalized. For a small company with only a handful of translators, this could pose a big problem. Which is why small translation companies only usually handle projects that are relatively small in terms of number of pages.
However, for bigger companies with a larger pool of translators, they can easily shift workforces in order to cater to a much larger project. So 200,000-page project can be easily achieved by a bigger translation company.
Our company has more than 1,000 translators. We can easily shift them to a particular project that needs to be done quickly. As such, we have no problem handling big or small projects. We also offer 1-hour translation projects for those who really need their translated documents very quickly.
Technical Translations.
One of the most popular transcription jobs are essays and term papers. While these types of translation jobs are relatively easy to do, there are some clients that need technical translations.
Among those considered under the technical translation category are Legal documents, Research papers, Immigration documents, and Bank statements. These documents usually require an extra attention as they are considered extremely important to the client. These documents are also usually required by certain government institutions.
Certified translations usually require certified translators to double check each document. Certified translators are some of the most sought after professionals in the industry. While there are regular translators, certified translators have extra levels of training. They are also allowed to put a certification stamp to translated documents, something that regular translators can’t do.
There are also clients that require their documents to be notarized. This adds another level of complexity to a project since a notary public or a lawyer is required to have this technicalities in order. It is especially difficult for those translation agencies that do not have in-house lawyers that can do the notarization themselves. Looking for a third-party notary public will simply add up to the overall turnaround time of a project, thus delaying it even more.
File Format.
Lastly, the file format of the client’s project also plays an important role in determining the overall turnaround time. Some clients send PDF files or scanned documents, some prefer to have it in PowerPoint Presentations or Excel Spreadsheets, some prefer JPEG images, and there are some that have it in videos.
This particular factor works in two ways. The file format the client sends, and the final format they want the translated project to be in. Sometimes a client will send a PDF file format to be translated and want the finished project to be in Microsoft Word.
There are some clients that will send a PowerPoint Presentation file, have it translated in an Excel Spreadsheet file format. While the most common file formats are PDF and .doc files, a translation agency should be well-equipped to handle any request from a customer.
Conclusion.
There you have it. These are some of the factors that help determine the turnaround time of a particular translation project. While this is not a definitive gauge, it will give you an idea of how long your particular project will be translated. If you want to have a fast turnaround time, make sure to double check some of the factors above for you to be able to make necessary changes to your project.
