José Henrique Lamensdorf - translation - tradução

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT DESKTOP PUBLISHING - DTP

What is desktop publishing?

Desktop Publishing, aka DTP is the job of assembling a complete publication on a computer. The objective may be to print it using a traditional offset printer, a print-on-demand (aka POD) shop, or create a PDF file compatible with Adobe Acrobat, either for onscreen viewing or printing by the user with their own printer.

DTP replaces the paste-up studio where final artworks were developed by pasting all their elements on pasteboards. These were photographed to make photoliths, which were used to engrave printing plates. Nowadays computers generate photoliths - or even printing plates - directly.


Why is DTP needed? Can't my word processor, e.g. Microsoft Word, do it?

These are two different paradigms. A word processor (e.g. Microsoft Word) does everything ever imagined for a typewriter to do. Nevertheless, it is still a word processor. If it takes in pictures, builds tables, charts, etc. these are features that once were dreamt of including in a typewriter. On the other hand, DTP software doesn't always have so many features for writing texts in itself, because they focus on text formatting, the layout of pictures, and other visual elements.

To answer the question, if the publication comprises mostly (or solely) text, it won't be so much trouble to develop the final artwork for printing on a word processor. It will be the difference seen a few years ago comparing books that were typeset with those that were typewritten. Nevertheless, as DTP software focuses on the visual look, text is treated differently there:

Observe this example:

Why should a translator hire DTP services?

The translator actually shouldn't. At best their client will have to.

Imagine this situation... An unenlightened client has a catalog, instruction manual, book, company newsletter, or any other publication they need in another language. Of course, they'll seek a translator. Imagine their disappointment (I forewarned that they were not well-informed) upon receiving the translation... in plain text! They will need a DTP operator to build their pub.

On the other hand, a well-informed client may ask the translator for a fully-formatted pub using a word processor. To a certain extent, this is quite possible. After all, when some older paradigms were still in place, many books - mostly computer books - were published as typed using IBM Selectric machines or dot-matrix printers. A current word processor with a state-of-the-art printer can offer much better results.

However sometimes the layout is too complex, and some translators now and then spend much more time formatting than translating the same publication. In other cases there is text embedded within illustrations that require delicate graphic editing, something outside their trade.


All right, but why should the translator do it instead of the end-client?

This is a good question, a matter of choice. If a translator's time is completely taken, if they are loaded with translation work up to the lid (or above it), it may be better to leave this to the client.

In other cases, it might be a good opportunity to win clients with price, quality, and speed.


How can a translator offer better prices?

The client is interested in the total cost: How much will they spend, from having a publication in language X, to have it in language Y?

After having paid for the unavoidable translation, they will have to pay for artwork. If they hire a DTP studio, it's unlikely that the operator will be bilingual. In this case, the solution is to mark text chunks on the original, so they'll know where and how (font, size, bold, italic) each chunk should be placed. Without this, there would be an endless back-and-forth flow between DTP operator and translator, going through the end-client. Someone must mark the text, preferably the translator, but the client could do it as well.

Upon being hired to manage the whole project, the translator - even getting paid (I hope!) - might save the client some money: I can do DTP without text x-reference for translation in any pair among Portuguese, English, Italian, French, and Spanish.

How can the translator offer better quality?

Being in control of the whole project, the translator will always be the first to see the DTP job done, and therefore will have a chance to see possible mistakes, flaws, or omissions that might have eluded previous proofreading. The risk of an end-client failing to submit the material to the translator for one last look before printing is high. After all, if anything behooves correction, the publication (usually a bulky file) will have to be sent to the translator, and later to the DTP operator, which takes time. Urgency sometimes bypasses this process, and the publication is printed as-is.


How can the translator offer more speed?

If the end-client stands between the translator and the DTP operator, there won't be direct contact. In other words, the translator shall deliver their finalized and proofread job to the client, who will pass it on to the DTP operator. When the translator is the one hiring the DTP operator, the timeline is shorter: I can work on the illustrations while the translator works on the text. If the publication is large, I can get the translations piecemeal and implement them as they come.


What's your edge? In other words, what advantages do you offer upon being outsourced by the translator?

First, I am also a translator myself, though I only translate between English and Portuguese. Nevertheless, I know enough Italian, French, and Spanish to do DTP with translations between any pair among these five languages, though I don't dare to translate from/into the last three.

The result is that the translator may deliver me plain text (TXT) files. No need to worry about bold or italicized words, what are titles, subtitles, or text inside pictures or tables. Just give me plain text and the original pub on paper or in a PDF file, and I'll sort out what goes where and how.

If the original does not include text in a computer-readable electronic file, I can do OCR (Optical Character Recognition) so that the translator may use their CAT tools. The translator may undertake the complete project, offering a more valuable package to the end-client.

Finally, if the same publication has to be translated into more than one language, the translator can do it or hire one (or more) colleague(s) to translate into the languages this translator doesn't cover, and take on the management of the whole project. Repeated DTP of the same publication in different languages is lower.


How do you team up with a translator?

The first step will always be a cost estimate. I developed a general budgeting electronic form that will quickly provide me with an idea on how much a DTP project will cost.

Once this has been done, to offer their cost estimate for the complete job to the client, the translator should add this amount to their translation cost. I suggest adding some percentage on the DTP cost to cover project management. At least the translator will spend some time sending and receiving files, or may have expenses with postage.

When the bid is approved, work begins. The first step is to set apart the project elements: text, illustrations, layout and fonts. At this time several details must be agreed upon. Regarding text, it depends on the media the original is provided. If it's in any editable text computer file, the translator may work on it directly. If it comes in a scanned PDF file, OCR will be needed. If it's on paper, it will be necessary to scan it before doing OCR. We must agree on who will be doing what.

Regarding illustrations, if they are provided on paper or embedded in a PDF file, they'll have to be captured via scanner or electronically. If there are separate illustrations (in JPG, BMP, TIF, GIF, etc. files) provided by the client, they will be used, lowering the cost.

However if the pictures have embedded text, I'll have to wipe it out and rebuild the background, to later apply the translated text. Charts and graphs will have to be individually analyzed.

Layout is taken from the original, either on paper or PDF file, being adapted if there is a page size conversion, e.g. from letter-size to A4 or vice-versa.

Regarding fonts, if all fonts used are among the "popular" ones (Arial, Times, etc.), this won't be a problem. However if special fonts are used, there are two alternatives: either a) the client will provide them in TrueType or OpenType files; or b) the client will accept equivalent or "similar" fonts.

I use Adobe PageMaker. Some publications may be provided directly in its proprietary format. Other pubs may be in exclusive formats used by each specific DTP application. I might arrange for someone who works with these other applications to extract the content (text and illustrations) to re-create the publication with PageMaker. If the client - for any reason - needs the publication translated in the different software package originally used to create it, I suggest you look up a specialist who uses that program.

Making it clear: if the desired end result is a PDF file or printouts, the application used to create it won't make any difference.


How do you deliver the final product?

It depends on what the client needs. I usually deliver a CD/DVD-ROM with all files used in the process (for non-disclosure reasons, I don't keep them), plus two PDF files: one at 72/96 dpi (small, good for e-mail or download and onscreen browsing), and another at 300 dpi (larger, good for professional quality printing). If the client desires the printed output, I can outsource it.


Why do you use PageMaker?

I have 20+ years' experience using its successive versions, and haven't yet met a publication impossible to make with it. When I began doing DTP, PageMaker was the pioneer in its field. Thanks to its evolution over all these years, it was possible to continue using it. In addition to PageMaker, for graphic files editing I use ULead PhotoImpact, and Adobe Acrobat. Depending on needs, I also use other software packages.


And what can you tell about your experience with this kind of work?

I translate between English and Portuguese since 1973, most often doing DTP as well. When I began translating, working on technical manuals, I had to make all drawings and these, together with photos and typewritten text were pasted using glue sticks on sheets that were photocopied. Later I worked with paste-up studios for several years, where they ordered phototypesetting and assembled everything on cardboard.

My first steps in DTP were with MultiScribe, which ran on an Apple II computer. At that time only dot-matrix printers were available, but results were impressive when compared to contemporary standards.

In 1988 I moved to PageMaker 3, which ran under the iconless Windows 2.01, on an 8 MHz PC-XT. There weren't so many resources for graphic sophistication, but the laser printer already offered - at least in text - the same quality it does now. Afterwards, it was just a long succession of upgrades, both in hardware and software. My pub count with PageMaker now should be around 700.

Having witnessed directly the problems that occur when the client triangles a pub between translator and DTP operator, I decided to offer this service to translators, getting benefits from the unused side in the first triangle:

I have further questions that you didn't answer here. What should I do?

Please use the DTP express services form.