Desktop Publishing (DTP) Services

Whether printed or online, even the best message is ineffective if it cannot be easily read and understood. 

Desktop publishing – abbreviated DTP – is one of the important steps of translation process.  DTP is the creation of the documents using page layout tools on a personal computer that goes beyond simple formatting. Generally speaking, it means rearranging the text and illustrations (images and/or graphs) by means of the special software. DTP is mostly frequently used when creating different brochures, manuals, leaflets and other similar materials. DTP first appeared in the early eighties when the Apple LaserWriter printer and Aldus’ Pagemaker software appeared in 1985.

When we refer to DTP, we actually mean the layout services done after translation.  DTP is often considered an integral part of translation process and requires specialized skills and software that most translators do not have, or are not very efficient with. Translators are good with words, and other people are good with other skills. To give you a high-level example, it is a lot like asking a journalist not only to write an article but to provide and process publication-level photos. Of course, most people do have smartphones and take basic pictures every day, but to make a professional photo you need a professional camera and lens that cost thousands of dollars, then special software and skills to properly process the image, and most people just do not have that in-depth knowledge. 

For instance, DTP is necessary for Arabic translations since the language is written from right to left. Moreover, if your document contains a lot of images and graphs, it should be not only properly translated but localized as well. Simple design changes can include modifying the size of a picture or the layout of your document to fit the translation. Or let’s take the German language – when translating, the German translation can be up to 30% longer, so the text may not fit correctly into allocated spaces, images and layout of your brochure or a document. That’s why layout has to be adjusted. Besides, DTP may be needed in the context of  culturally appropriate use of color and imagery. What is perfectly acceptable in one culture may be inadvertently offensive or have negative connotations in another, so images, color schemes and other nuances may need to be adjusted.

With all this in mind, it is easy to see how challenging this can become, especially considering the fact that most DTP specialists who provide such services for companies under normal circumstances (say, for documents to be published for English-speaking audience / market) are monolingual or like most other people maybe speak 1 foreign language. When document is published internationally and/or in many languages, it suddenly becomes a completely different story. Just imagine trying to explain to a person who does not know the language how to change line breaks, and why it is important to keep this specific word on that specific line when it does not fit there! Such communication can lead to numerous emails and phone calls, resulting in a lot of frustration, wasted time and effort, possibly missed deadlines and significant financial losses.