Q. Do I need to have a professional translation?

A. The most important question you have to pose yourself before starting to look for someone to translate your document is: What is the translation going to be used for? If your document is a document that will be seen by the public or by a client your best bet is always to have the translation done by a reliable and guaranteed professional agency; otherwise your image might be affected causing you and your business loss of revenue. Idea is a guaranteed translation agency created by professional translators in their search of excellence in service and quality at reasonable prices. We believe in ourselves to the extent that we offer sample translations for free!!! Just Contact us and ask about this offer.

Q. What does TEP mean?

A. TEP stands for Translation-Edition-Proofreading, a three-step process that is used by Idea to ensure that the result of the translation is a high quality product. Most agencies will offer you only Translation or Translation and Edition only. At Idea Translations, we offer Proofreading as part of the service at no extra charge. This is how we guarantee the accuracy of all of our translations.

Q. Are there any additional steps in a translation process?

A. Some projects are very large, highly technical and very specific in their subject matter. In these cases, we offer terminology research to generate a glossary for the project, ensuring that consistency is maintained throughout the entire process.

Desktop Publishing (DTP) is another process that some projects may require. When translating from English into a Romance Language, there is a text expansion of about 20%, causing the format of your document to be altered. By employing DTP services, our graphic designers will format your document so that the translation looks the same as the source document.

Q. The content of my document is highly technical and very specific to a certain area of expertise (i.e. medical, financial, legal, engineering, etc.). How can I be sure that the translation will be accurate?

A. At Idea Translations, our resources are divided into 5 different teams to cover a range of topics. These teams handle each of the following areas: Legal, Financial, Medical, Technical, and non-technical (i.e. business, marketing, general interest, etc.). We guarantee that your translation will be done by a specialist in the subject matter with a vast understanding of terminology and general content of the original text.

Q. How can I get a quote?

A. For each project, one of our Sales Representatives will analyze your document with a Project Manager to determine the word count, language pair(s) requested, format and necessary timeline. Once the Sales Rep has generated a formal quote, he/she will review it with you and go over any other questions you might have.
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Q. How does a translation project evolve?

A. Below we have reproduced a work chart with all of the possible steps that a translation project might involve:

Q. What are CAT Tools?

A. CAT stands for Computer Aided Translation. It is a computer program that allows translators to work efficiently while maintaining the consistency of the terminology and vocabulary throughout the translation.

A CAT tool divides texts into segments (called "Translation Units") and organizes them so that the translation process moves smoothly and quickly.

The CAT tool saves the translation units in a database, called a translation memory (TM). The translation memory is particularly useful because it can be re-used on the same text or for other projects that the client has involving the same subject matter. The creation of a translation memory helps save time and resources while ensuring that translators are consistent in their work.

The process is simple: when a sentence is translated, the CAT tool stores the original sentence ("source" sentence) along with the translated sentence ("target" sentence) in a database ("translation memory" or "TM"). When a new sentence is translated, the CAT tool compares the new sentence with previously translated text already stored in the translation memory. Identical sentences are referred to as "100% matches", and similar sentences are referred to as "fuzzy matches".

When a document contains a high number of matches, the translators can save considerable time translating, and our clients can save money as we offer reduced rates for 100% and fuzzy matches. Ultimately, these tools increase productivity, allowing us to meet your tight deadlines without compromising quality.

Q. What is the difference between an automatic, online-translation and a human translator?

A. If you are familiar with automatic (machine) translation tools found on the Internet, you might ask yourself why bother hiring a human translation service instead of using the free online translation tool?

Although this tool might be useful when you need to translate a couple of words or a simple phrase, it is not recommended for whole paragraphs or documents. The machine translation tool does not "think"(it does not provide the cognitive analysis necessary in order to provide an accurate translation) and as a consequence, may lead you to use incorrect wording and change the context of your document.

Using a human translator is much more effective in order to achieve an accurate and localized text, using the correct terminology and delivering the exact message you wish to convey, while respecting the ideas of the original document.

Beware: Online translation tools are free but dangerous!

Q. How can I make payments?

A. Payments can be made by check, credit card, PayPal or bank transfer. Please note that we require a minimum 50% upfront payment for projects.