Showing posts with label spanish translation rates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spanish translation rates. Show all posts
Monday, August 6, 2012
Translation Quote Request: Metrics and Averages
Requesting a Translation Quote
The standard measurement of translation cost is by word or translation rate per word. This has many advantages in that it`s easy to measure and suits most world languages with the exception of some of the Asian languages. A translation quote per page is very unreliable as the word count per page differs depending on size of page, font size, graphics etc… A translation quote per hour also tends to be unreliable as some translators tend to be faster than others and a metric based on words has to be established to plan the work anyway. Also, both quotes per page and per hour do not fit into the analytical reports of translation memory tools. Most reports are based on raw analysis and manipulation of word counts. If a quote is based on time there is a huge and unnecessary degree of trust placed on the sub-contractor. In some cases a translation quote will be based on the character count. This is a reliable method to quote on translations but leads to more complications due to higher character counts and more complicated calculations. However, in some cases especially in the case of Asian languages it is more logical to base the quote on the character counts due to the nature of some of the Asian languages.
So far so good, we are reached our first concrete decision, the measurement value of our quote will be in words or in the case of Asian languages, characters. We now have to request an itemized quote from the translation services companies based on the word counts. After doing this we notice that some documents are translated at a higher rate than others. A general rule of thumb is that specialized fields such as legal, medical and technical tend to be 20% more expensive than general and business fields.
How so, you may ask and the answer is that there are fewer suitably qualified translators for the subject matter which tends to drive translation prices up. Other factors that contribute to a higher rate per word are as follows:
• Unusual language combinations with few translators
• Language combinations where the pool of translators have high living costs
• Highly specialized subject matter
Great! so we can now compare the word count and the rate from translation agency to translation agency but we then start to notice that some translation agencies are offering lesser rates for previously translated text or repeated text, while the rate for untranslated text may be slightly higher. These translation agencies are offering Translation memory services which stores previously translated text. It may be a first job with the agency so there is no previously translated text however, there may be what we call in the industry repeated text which only needs to be translated once. This type of text may be offered to the client at say 30% of the normal rate. Translation Memory systems complicate the translation process and require investment of the part of the translation agency but they ensure consistency and cut costs in the long run. This is why translation services companies offering these services often have higher rates but in the long term the investment in higher rates is worth it. Here is a summary of the key decisions we have to decide on when analyzing translation quotes:
1. Translation Quote measurement (Words)
2. Understanding differing word counts
3. Understanding translation rates and why
- Degree of difficulty and expertise
- Language combination
Hopefully this article helps you to facilitate the translation quote process. Remember to ask the translation agencies to provide their quote in the same format. Ask them for a quotation per word with each document/text itemized. This will ensure you get an easy to compare breakdown of rates and word counts which should make the decision process easier! Happy outsourcing!
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Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations
One Stop Shop Translations is a translation services company based in Madrid, Spain. We offer economically unbeatable translation quotes in most common language combinations of the world and fields of industry. if you just want to browse over our rates, click here
Try One Stop Shop Translations for Quality, price and timeliness!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Latest Translation rates - One Stop Shop Translations
One Stop Shop Translations has just revised its translation rates for the year 2012. The revision includes translation rate cuts of up to 30% for some of the principle language combinations but in no way reduce the quality of the translation services provided by One Stop Shop.
One Stop Shop Translation’s CEO, Mark Kieran says, “With this revision we feel are are even more in tune with today´s econmic climate. The cuts follow even more cuts made last November and make us one of the leading quality translation companies in the world with such low pricing. With the crisis showing no signs of abating we felt we had to get even tougher and our low cost model has enabled us to do so. In fact I would even go as far as to say we have even thrived in the adverse market conditions”
Typical language combinations that we offer that have seen these massive cuts include: Translation rate per word :
English to German Translation - €0.10
English to Spanish Translation - €0.10
English to French Translation Services - €0.10
English to Portuguese translation Services - €0.10
One can request a translation quote here and see for yourself, no additional commissions, no added fees for specialty fields or urgency, a uniform translation rate for all translation within a language combination. Sounds too good to be true!
One Stop Shop Translation’s CEO, Mark Kieran says, “With this revision we feel are are even more in tune with today´s econmic climate. The cuts follow even more cuts made last November and make us one of the leading quality translation companies in the world with such low pricing. With the crisis showing no signs of abating we felt we had to get even tougher and our low cost model has enabled us to do so. In fact I would even go as far as to say we have even thrived in the adverse market conditions”
Typical language combinations that we offer that have seen these massive cuts include: Translation rate per word :
English to German Translation - €0.10
English to Spanish Translation - €0.10
English to French Translation Services - €0.10
English to Portuguese translation Services - €0.10
One can request a translation quote here and see for yourself, no additional commissions, no added fees for specialty fields or urgency, a uniform translation rate for all translation within a language combination. Sounds too good to be true!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Fixing Translation Rates and Prices
Background and Experience
An experienced translator with an established client base can afford to set higher translation rates than a graduate with little or no experience. The experienced translator has been tried and tested and has the luxury of relative financial security with other clients. They are not desperate for the work. On the other hand an inexperienced graduate with little or no commercial experience is more desperate for the work and they have little or no financial security. This is why their rates are often cheaper. The area of specialization often affects pricing. Highly specialized fields with a lot of technical jargon like for instance pharmaceuticals, technical engineering, legal and medical translation often require the translator to have a skilled qualification as well as experience in this field. This often leads to fewer qualified translators in this sector leading to higher prices. For example general business texts are less technical with less terminology and most translators can translate them no problem. This means there is a huge supply of translators to choose from leading to lower translation prices in this area.Language Combination
The language combination has a huge effect on translation rates. It also often boils down to the old case of supply and demand. The more translators there are for a particular language combination the cheaper the prices will be. Certain combinations are simply more competitive than others for translators thus pushing the prices down. The cost of living in the target language country where more often than not the translator is located influences translation rates. We notice that when the target language is a language from a developing country for instance Spanish translation services for Peru, the rates tend to be much cheaper as the GDP or standard of living in this particular country is very low. The translator can afford to charge much lower translation prices. A hundred EURO in Peru goes a lot further than in Spain. We also should note that rare language combinations, for example Icelandic to French tend to be more expensive than more common language combinations such as English to Spanish translation. This is of course because there are fewer translators for the Icelandic to French combination so the translator can in effect name his price.Culture
The culture of a country. For example we notice that German translation rates tend to be much higher than Spanish translation rates. This is down to a number of factors but a major bearing is the simple fact that a German translator will not work for €0, 05 per word whereas it seems to be a standard rate in Spain and Italy. This also ties in with the fact that the cost of living in Germany is much higher. From my experience there seems to be a lot of German translators but they just charge higher rates. All in all setting realistic translation rates is one of the essentials to a successful translation career as a freelancer. A very low translation quote tends to have potential clients wondering why is this guy so cheap, plus often leaves the translator short of salary whereas too high a translation quote simply prices the translator out of the market. It is indeed a delicate balancing act that must be approached with caution.If you like this post please "like" or "share" for more content
Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations
One Stop Shop Translations is a translation services company based in Madrid, Spain. If you just want to browse over our translation rates, click here or get a great value personalised translation quote here.
Try One Stop Shop Translations for Quality, price and timeliness!
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