Poll: How much of your time do you devote to working on the document layout? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How much of your time do you devote to working on the document layout?".
This poll was originally submitted by Takako Shibuya
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll... See more This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How much of your time do you devote to working on the document layout?".
This poll was originally submitted by Takako Shibuya
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629 ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:29
German to English
+ ...
Some documents require a lot more layout work than others. If you extract a PDF file to Word, for example, it requires extensive re-formatting to mirror the original text.
However, most normal Word files require almost no layout work.
Overall, less than 10 %.
| | | | Raitei
Japan
Japanese to English
| On THE document layout? | Nov 14, 2009 |
Shibuya 109:
Which document layout are you talking about? Is there some big project all of you are working on that no one told me about?
If you are speaking in general terms, you should ask, "How much time do you spend on document layouts?"
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Thanks to CAT tools, very little. I just make a final layout check before delivery to make sure that the formatting of the translated file is the same as in the source file. This is usually the last thing I do before delivering the translation.
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| From 0 to 90 per cent | Nov 14, 2009 |
Depending on the format and use: from *.DOC, TXT, XLS to XML, HTML, HTM, PDF, Design & Computer Aided Design systems, Maps and Geoinformat. systems, slogans, Subtitles etc. (more 5 to 7 frequently used formats) - from 0 to 90%.
But often these numbers are just for convenience. What is the LAYOUT in all these types of systems and documents? Where are the borders/distinguising lines between "layout," content, text, form and substance and who defines them?!
So, IMHO, the ... See more Depending on the format and use: from *.DOC, TXT, XLS to XML, HTML, HTM, PDF, Design & Computer Aided Design systems, Maps and Geoinformat. systems, slogans, Subtitles etc. (more 5 to 7 frequently used formats) - from 0 to 90%.
But often these numbers are just for convenience. What is the LAYOUT in all these types of systems and documents? Where are the borders/distinguising lines between "layout," content, text, form and substance and who defines them?!
So, IMHO, the question is about nothing. Even if it receives answers, everyone answers his/her own question about his/her unique understanding of "layout" and related terms ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It varies a lot | Nov 14, 2009 |
As I do DTP too, if it's requested, the translation vs. DTP ratio in that job may vary according to the graphic complexity of the document.
As Mary and Alexander aptly pointed out, sometimes formatting the input for CAT usage may take a while, either from PDF or hardcopy.
I have a current case... a 400-page book I'm translating now.
Some 13 years ago I bought a SCSI scanner, a real speed demon. Of course, it eventually became obsolete, and the latest driver... See more As I do DTP too, if it's requested, the translation vs. DTP ratio in that job may vary according to the graphic complexity of the document.
As Mary and Alexander aptly pointed out, sometimes formatting the input for CAT usage may take a while, either from PDF or hardcopy.
I have a current case... a 400-page book I'm translating now.
Some 13 years ago I bought a SCSI scanner, a real speed demon. Of course, it eventually became obsolete, and the latest drivers for it are compatible with Windows 98. Nothing will make it work under any newer OS. Anyway, I kept it.
My current USB scanner is the typical contemporary laggard found in any store. It would probably take days to scan all that book.
So I pulled together a lot of computer "scrap" I had around, assembled a Pentium MMX 233, installed Win 98 SE on it, and the scanner. I had my doubts whether 256 MB RAM would be enough, but that was a good standard then.
In about two hours the entire book was scanned into a series of PDFs, one per chapter, for OCR. Back to the future! I did the OCR on the Pentium 4, of course.
Now I have a whole scanning workstation here. Should I consider the time - some 4 hours - it took me to find all the parts and set it up for this job? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 20:29
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I usually work in the same template.
| | | | | I think the question is quite clear | Nov 14, 2009 |
Raitei wrote: Which document layout are you talking about? Is there some big project all of you are working on that no one told me about? . If you are speaking in general terms, you should ask, "How much time do you spend on document layouts?"
IMHO the above just sounds like a pedantic distraction which adds nothing to the topic. Like this one.
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| Agree with Mary | Nov 14, 2009 |
Most documents require no reformatting whatsoever, whereas others, in particular certificates where the original was a scanned PDF, take quite a lot.
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Oliver Lawrence wrote:
Most documents require no reformatting whatsoever, whereas others, in particular certificates where the original was a scanned PDF, take quite a lot.
Yes, it all depends.
BTW, do you my fellow translators, charge for formatting?
I believe we should particularly when the source doc is in PDF.
| | | | | More than I'd like to | Nov 15, 2009 |
I agree that it varies tremendously. I always ask to see a text before I accept the work, mainly to make sure I won't be stuck with tricky formatting. If it's very complicated, I sometimes offer the client a lower rate if their office staff can do the formatting. And sometimes I simply turn down the job.
I used to have a colleague who would simply say: "I don't do arts & crafts." (As in: "I don't do windows.") It was not negotiable.
And yes, one of my main clients pays ... See more I agree that it varies tremendously. I always ask to see a text before I accept the work, mainly to make sure I won't be stuck with tricky formatting. If it's very complicated, I sometimes offer the client a lower rate if their office staff can do the formatting. And sometimes I simply turn down the job.
I used to have a colleague who would simply say: "I don't do arts & crafts." (As in: "I don't do windows.") It was not negotiable.
And yes, one of my main clients pays 10% extra for "extensive formatting." (This was my idea, introduced when I headed the same service 20 years ago.)
[Edited at 2009-11-15 04:59 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 04:29
Member (2006)
German to English
Always try to get the files as ttx so that I do not have to deal with them
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