At TradOnline we often receive requests to translate PDF files. As our job requires it, as soon as we receive such a file we analyse it, and this analysis allows us to identify the software that was used to export the PDF file. Along the way, we started noticing that Adobe Indesign was often behind these files.
You will ask why our clients don’t just send us the native Indesign file format. One reason might be that it’s not so obvious that a translation agency would be working with a DTP tool like Indesign, so the client doesn’t even ask about it, they just send along the PDF file which everyone is accustomed to working with.
Here’s the catch: translating a PDF file actually takes more work than translating an Indesign file, as we need to convert it from PDF to doc format, and the page layout as well as the rendering of fonts can sometimes become a mess. Our client’s graphic designer will then have to copy-paste the texts translated by TradOnline into their original Indesign file. This is a long painstaking process which could be avoided.
We have the solution to make your life easier!
Thanks to our CAT (computer-assisted translation) tool, we can directly translate Indesign files. Bonus: less time and money spent
The exact file format we can use for translating is idml, the Indesign native file format. Talk to your graphics designer and they will know how to help 🙂
Our tools allow us to make the process seamless: we import the file into our CAT tool, translate it, then export it as an idml file in the language you’ve requested.
The only further modification needed on your end for the translated file, would be resizing the text elements to fit the page. We can also provide this at a reduced rate, thanks to the graphic designers we collaborate with. Don’t hesitate, contact us!