The translation for all languages was accurate and we were happy that there was a subject-matter expert in the biomedical field doing the translation. Overall, the quality of translation met our expectations and we’re happy with the outcome. The objective with which the book was translated got accomplished.
- Paul Lavender
Strategic Competence Lead - Education & Learning at Karger
Karger Publishers, based in Basel, Switzerland, is a worldwide publisher of scientific and medical content. Since 1890, Karger has continuously evolved, connected, and advanced health sciences, keeping pace with current developments and shifts in research and publishing. The publishing house is dedicated to serving the information needs of the scientific community, clinicians, and patients with publications of high-quality content and services in health sciences. In addition, using their network and experience, they provide relevant and essential information to researchers and the scientific communities through means beyond their journals and books. Karger Publishers has 240 employees and is present in 15 countries across the globe.
The objective of the client was to help those looking to get published. Authors easily comprehend the books that are published in their regional language. Although many would eventually seek to publish in English, educating them in their local language is always advisable. In addition, translating the book in other languages increases readership, and since Karger is a global company, it's only natural that they cater to scientific communities across languages. Therefore, the client looked for a translation partner to translate their book and make it publication-ready in multiple languages.
The client expected top-notch quality of translation as the book would be helpful as an instruction guide to getting published for biomedical science graduates and postdoctoral fellows. Therefore, each word and sentence had to be accurate and create an impact to fulfill the purpose of making the book engaging and informative.
The client provided InDesign files as they wanted the translation output to be similar to the source to publish the book post-translation directly. Hence, the linguists had to be well versed with the CAT tool. In addition, we had to ensure that the linguist we select for all the five language pairs had the expertise in biomedical sciences and could work on our CAT tool within stringent deadlines.
A part of the project involved multiple rounds of proofreading and desktop publishing (DTP) assistance after the translation delivery. It was a critical requirement since the formatting consistency of the translated files with the source file had to be maintained. Our DTP team had to format the InDesign target files in five different languages to achieve this goal. Additionally, quality checks for typesetting and DTP for all languages had to be strictly followed.
The objective of the client was to help those looking to get published. Authors easily comprehend the books that are published in their regional language. Although many would eventually seek to publish in English, educating them in their local language is always advisable. In addition, translating the book in other languages increases readership, and since Karger is a global company, it's only natural that they cater to scientific communities across languages. Therefore, the client looked for a translation partner to translate their book and make it publication-ready in multiple languages. The translation had to be precise because a slight change in meaning would directly affect the accuracy and brand reliability.
A dedicated project manager was assigned to coordinate with multiple stakeholders, ensuring all quality standards and expectations were met. The project manager’s role included overseeing the localization and accommodating any last-minute revisions from the client, planning, strategizing, adhering to deadlines, and overcoming any other challenges, especially considering the different service and language requirements.
The crux of any localization project is choosing the right team of linguists. For this project, we explored our central database of language experts. We used our in-house selection methodology algorithm to form a perfect group of linguists with the required expertise in biomedical sciences. Post selection, we had to get a comprehensive evaluation of the linguists done. Linguists who were PhD holders and had experience in journal writing were selected. Then, our project management team had to train the chosen linguists on CAT tools for translating InDesign files.
Our in-house DTP team worked on Adobe InDesign and Illustrator to ensure that the translated output was formatted the same way as the source English content. Since every section in the book needed to be formatted, translated, or localized, it was crucial to provide enough time for our design experts to work on each section.
Every stage of the localization workflow, such as translation, editing, DTP, and review, was carried out seamlessly. We used an agile localization technique to ensure the quality checkpoints were met at every step of the process. The project manager was one of the key contributors to the success due to his efficient monitoring and effortless coordination with multiple stakeholders.
We worked relentlessly to provide top-quality translation and make the book publication-ready in Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Adherence to client requirements and timelines as promised resulted in customer delight.
