Typesetting

Good translations are often ruined by incompetent typesetting. Country-specific typographic conventions, punctuation, hyphenation, capitalization, positioning of the different text and graphics blocks, and the electronic conversion of special characters are but a few potential disaster areas when going from word-processed text to printed literature. The reason why so much of today’s translated business literature is foreign-looking to the very audience it addresses is simple: Most translation companies that advertise foreign-language typesetting are actually unfamiliar with the complexities of typography and printing in any language, while most typesetters and printers are only trained to work in their own language.

Unprofessional foreign typesetting results, in the best case, in copy that looks “strange” to the native reader of the language in question. In the worst case it will be considered grammatically illiterate.

Did you know, for example, that the quotation marks used in Germany are different from those preferred by the German-speaking Swiss; those used in Spain are different from those you see in most Latin-American countries, and those used in Portugal look “foreign” in Brazil? Some typographical conventions (not to mention spelling and hyphenation) are even different between American and British English. 

For more information on international typesetting check Gabe Bokor’s article in the Translation Journal.

AB Typesetting

AB Typesetting is a Division of Accurapid Translation Services, Inc. specializing in high-quality typesetting in the major European languages, including Russian. Accurapid is one of the few translation companies in the U.S.A. with experienced in-house personnel for typography in the major European languages, as well as for layout and graphics. We can also provide you with expert typography in Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic.

Translation/typesetting packages are processed according to a rigorous quality control sequence. Translations prepared or received on electronic media by Accurapid are edited, proofread, and converted into the appropriate electronic format for typesetting. In Accurapid’s typesetting department the text is processed, together with the graphic elements, using a typesetting computer program. A laser proof copy is carefully checked by language-knowledgeable personnel for completeness, appearance, consistency of format, and compliance with the typographic conventions of the target country.        

Finally the text with the embedded graphics is sent to the customer as an electronic file, output on Accurapid’s high-resolution printers, or delivered to a service bureau for runout on film or RC (Resin Coated) paper at a resolution of up to 3386 dpi, which can be handled even by a printer who is not familiar with the language involved.

The international edition of your manual, brochure, leaflet or annual report, translated and typeset by Accurapid/AB Typesetting, will compare favorably with the very best produced in the target country.

Color-true prepress proofs of your sales literature from our Tektronix Phaser color printer allow you to see the exact colors of your full-color brochure before it’s printed, saving you time and money.

AB Typesetting’s graphic scanner and Optical Character Reading (OCR) software can convert your hard-copy graphics and text into editable electronic formats for use in your publications.

It doesn’t cost more to have the best if it’s done by Accurapid/AB Typesetting.