When is a translation just “urgent” and when is it an “urgent translation”?

For us, an urgent translation or an express translation is a translation that cannot be completed by the deadline without evening, weekend or night work and is therefore also subject to an express surcharge.

An experienced translator can manage 200-250 standard lines in one working day. If you want your document to be translated by a single translator, you need to allow time for this, plus extra time for a second specialist to review the text.

If several translators are working simultaneously on translating a document, we can still ensure consistency as we deploy a cloud-based terminology management and all texts are reviewed by one and the same proofreader. This means the translation process is finished faster, but we have to allow more time for proofreading –because no document leaves our office without being reviewed by a separate proofreader.

And, of course, not every translation is urgent and there is not always a deadline looming. Therefore, we plan our processing times – if the client doesn’t have a specific deadline – in such a way that we can produce excellent quality without time-pressure and, if necessary, also squeeze in another customer's express order. So, .... if you give us a little extra time on a not-so-urgent translation, the next time there’s a real emergency, you may be the one benefiting from our capacity buffer. Of course, this also gives us more leeway to fine-tune the translation if the translator and proofreader have time to discuss the texts and, if possible, to read through them again the next morning after a good night’s sleep.

If you know you won’t be reviewing or forwarding the translation that same evening, the deadline may not need to be at the end of the workday, but at 9 or 10 the next morning, enabling us to put in an early shift to re-read through the document. If we have promised you a delivery date, we will definitely meet the deadline.

Making the impossible possible under high pressure can be immensely rewarding – but it is also fun to take your time working on a text and delving deep into the nitty gritty – possibly in pairs – to achieve the very best result imaginable. So feel free to let us discuss together what the right turnaround time for your translation order may be.

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