Choosing a Translation Company
As already mentioned on our guide to professional translation, there a several basic criteria that your translation company or translation agency should meet:
- Be native speakers
- Professionally qualified translators
- Experienced in your subject matter
- Added values services - desk top publishing, website localization etc.
You now need to start the search for your translation agency. Budget often plays a big part in the selection criteria, and the phrase you get what you pay for often rings true with translation companies.
Cheap translation companies often utilise new or in-experienced freelance translators who are unable to secure regular projects with the larger translation agencies. Whereas the bigger translation agencies often have dedicated quality control measures which mean only experienced translators make the grade.
However, even larger translation agencies need to ensure they have a regular supply of new translators and will often take on interns who are fresh out of university. Of course, being larger companies they are often able to attract the best candidates who consider working for the big companies a major plus point for their CVs. Most translation agencies have at least a handful of full-time translators on staff which gives some flexibility in delivery, especially for fast turnaround of smaller projects, however larger companies such as SDL have over 800 full time translators permanently employed in their offices. This is often the sort of set up preferred by large translation buyers such as IBM, Microsoft or Sony as they know their translation vendor has a team in place dedicated to supporting there higher volume demands.
There are some observers who think the industry is moving to the stage where translation has become a commodity, however with added value services such as technology integration and project management, plus the fact that translation is almost an art form suggests that such opinions are way off the mark. Yes, pricing has certainly come down over recent years thanks to technology advances and the opening up of the market, especially online, but there is a limit to how low the price can go and this is largely dictated by the country of origin of the native speaker and the availability of quality translation resources for a particular language. For example, you can't outsource your French translation to an Indian or Chinese company and expect to pay much less than outsourcing to a US or UK translation company. This is because they will still reply on the same pool of French translation resources. Unless they are employing non-native speakers, in which case you should avoid using their services at all costs.
If you are wanting a cost effective solution and are prepared to take a risk on an unknown quantity, then I would suggest posting your project on Proz.com. You can review translator profiles, experience and qualifications prior to allocating a project so you have some level of security. However the extra time taken may well end up costing you the same as if you just went to a translation agency in the first place.
The following is a brief list of translation companies that have an established reputation for quality. The Translation Guide receives no renumeration for providing these links.
- SDL International - For high end localization projects for major blue chip and fortune 500 companies.
- SDL Agency - A division of SDL specialising in fast turnaround translation for the technology, creative and new media sectors as well as general business translation
- Click2Translate - The online division of SDL allowing instant quotes and online management of the translation process - and they don't charge a project management fee
- LionBridge - Until recently the second largest provider of translation services. Until they acquired the largest provider, Bowne Global Services and became number 1.
- BeTranslated Translation Services - A network of professional translators operating as a translation company. They offer excellent rates and pride themselves on fast turnaround time.
- Lingo24 Translation Services - A UK based translation company with a strong ethos towards quality translation.
- Eurotexte - A translation compan based in France and the people behind Translators Sans Frontiers, a voluntary group of translators who provide services to charitable institutes and NGO's.
If you know of other translation services that you would like to recommend, please let The Translation Guide know by filling in our contact form or emailing us at info@thetranslationguide.com