We charge on a per word basis for translations. Price varies based on a) Language, b) Industry/difficulty of text. Translation is always done in country by real translators who are native translators and proofreaders.
We store all your translations in our STAR Transit Translation Memory System. This creates our ‘translation memory’ database which is a store of all your translations. Transit stores every line of translation as our translators work, storing all your translation so you can re-use phrases and paragraphs again. So you never have to pay full price to translate the same text again. This benefits you, our clients in terms of cost reduction. Typically we see clients over time saving between 15%-40% on documents. Secondly you benefit from consistent translation quality. This ensures you use the same terminology in all documents maintaining overall translation quality and your brand image.
When you consider the re-use of text across documents, updates, and file format this lowers the overall cost of translation per word. We can provide statistics to clients in order for them to measure their average word cost over time.
How do we define words?
There are three types of word pricing; 1) New Word rate, 2) Fuzzy Word rate and 3) Perfect Match rate.
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1) New Word |
A new word or sentence of text that has not been previously translated. |
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2) Fuzzy Word |
This is text that is similar to some previous translated text. Example would be…
To open the driver door, please pull the handle down and out. To open the passenger door, please pull the offside handle down and out.
Or
To Install version 7.0 of the buffalo driver click OK to continue. To Install version 5.0 of the buffalo device driver select OK to continue
Fuzzy sentences do not require as much translation, but need to be proofed to ensure consistency.
We charge 66% of the full word price for fuzzy matches. |
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3) Perfect matches |
When we analyse a document we find two types of repeat strings. a) A string that has been translated in a document before. b) A string that is repeated in the current document. Examples can be items such as title headers or common phrases such as ‘Click OK to continue’ We recommend all pre-translated text should be proofread in context to ensure document consistency, so you just pay 33% of your word cost for this. |
How long does it take to translate a document?
Our translators average approx 2000 words per day. Based on a single translator working on a project turnaround time would be (Total number of words / 2000) + 2 days for Project management and Proofreading. We translate all languages at the same time, so if you are translating more than one language it does not any longer.
Why do I need proofreading?
Proofreading is a key part of the quality process. When a translator works on a project it is only human that errors might occur. As part of our internal quality process we employ a second person who is a professional translator and proofreader to review all your translated text for quality. This additional quality gate allows us to a) verify that quality and interpretation of the translation – so that it is correct, and b) to check the style of the translation to ensure it matches all your documentation. Proofing always has to be done by a second person to get a single overall quality picture of your documents.
What if I need it faster?
Should you require the document in a faster turnaround time we can accommodate such requests depending on client requirements, by putting more than one translator on a project. You should call to discuss this with your account manager.
Why STAR?
STAR is the 3rd largest translation company in the world, and Europe’s largest privately held translation company.
We have been specialists in the technical translation sector for 20 years. We employ over 800 staff worldwide in 35 global offices. All your translations are done in country by native speakers, specializing in your industry sector. So you get the best quality, industry translations for each of your target markets.
Additional Services:
STAR also provides DTP services for all leading file formats. DTP is charged on a per page or hourly basis depending on the project.
Why do I need DTP?
This is a common question that clients ask us about. All languages have different styles and constructs, so what you can say in 5 words in English, might be 2 words in German or 10 in French. Typically German sentences can be up to 30% longer in size than their English counterparts. After your document has been translated this means that its layout may have changed. Your designed layout text may overflow onto a new paragraph of page, which can result in the document having to be reworked before you can print it.
We recommend that when clients create original documentation they should leave at least 20% white space around all text to ensure ease of translation.
Can I do DTP myself?
Some clients prefer to do the final touch-up DTP themselves. For most European languages like French, German and Italian, most good designers have a few rudimentary words of the language and can resize text and do the layout themselves. So we are happy if clients like to do this.
The challenge comes when you have to work on languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Hebrew which are complex languages to DTP. In this case if you do not have a native speaker in house it is much easier to have STAR do this work for you.
Additional Technology Benefits:
We also provide technology tools for terminology management, translation workflow and document quality control. As your relationship grows with STAR and your translation knowledge and experience grows you can discuss these areas with your account manager.
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