8 Common Translation DTP Errors

Desktop publishing, commonly abbreviated as DTP, is perfecting the layout and formatting of your document. Translation DTP typically involves a specialist preparing the document for translation first. Toward the end of the process, there is another step that involves checking the document in the original language and comparing it to the translation to ensure everything is as similar as possible. This is more important with some content than others – for example, it’s critical to make sure that your content is the exact same in brochures, catalogues, and other customer-facing documents.

DTP specialists take care to verify your files are completely up to standard. Attention to detail is extremely important in this work, and these individuals will notice even the smallest of errors. Here are some changes that often need to happen in the final DTP:

Fonts

Sometimes fonts can change in the translation process. This is especially important in non-roman alphabets like Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Tamil, and Thai. The DTP specialist will need to decide on a font that is close to the original that takes up about the same width at the same size.

Line count

Line count can also change depending on the font and language. Some languages are more expanded or condensed compared to others. For example, Spanish translation is approximately 20% longer than the English original. How important line count is depends on your brand standards and the content being translated. The DTP specialist will often have to use letter spacing, line spacing, soft breaks, and margins to make the line count match the original as close as possible.

Text becoming hidden

Even the best preparation of a document can’t always foresee translated text getting hidden in the end product. Sometimes, text will overflow into unseen areas and requires someone with strong attention to detail to correct it. Specialists use tools like paragraph markers to see if any text has been mistakenly concealed in the process of translation.

Table changes

Tables are often misaligned and broken in the final draft after translation. People who have a lot of expertise in DTP are able to compare the original table to the translated table and make sure all margins and alignment are correct. Issues that the untrained eye might miss, like vertical alignment and precise table size, are adjusted to mirror the original as closely as possible.

Localization of special characters

Many languages use different encoding types than English for their punctuation. For example, some languages use the full-width percentage sign which appears as such: ％. English uses the typical Latin encoding: %. Although they may look the same, the full-width sign does not adjust as readily to font changes in English. An expert in translation-oriented DTP will notice the difference in encoding and update the character appropriately.

Font formatting (italic, bold, underline)

It may be easy to spot italicized text in a paragraph but noticing it in small equations can be tricky. Life science translations often have complex equations and formulas that need to be copied exactly, and that includes font formatting. A careful DTP process ensures that every single subscript is italicized as needed. It can also be tricky to tell whether or not text was bold in the original language, particularly for non-roman alphabets. Matching the font weight to the original will make the headers stand out in the way they were designed.

Page formatting

Page formatting encompasses margins, page size, ruler, tabs, blank space, line spacing, and many other elements. A DTP specialist has learned to master all the tools of modifying how your text appears on the page. If your project is formatted correctly, the original and the translation should look nearly identical upon zooming out.

Page breaks or page numbers

When all the other elements have been changed, sometimes page breaks and page numbers can get shifted. It is the job of the specialist to ensure that all text lands on the same pages as the original. This includes potentially fixing the table of contents, which can often become misaligned when all other elements have been modified.

As you can see, the desktop publishing step is one of the most important steps before completing your translation project. The project manager will typically look over the completed project before delivery as well. Our team of experts can help ensure you’re putting the best possible product in front of your customer. Contact us today for a free quote.