Technical insights into DTP for document translation

DTP plays an essential role in document translation, as discussed in several previous articles. Today’s post offers technical insights in DTP by exploring the daily routine of DTP artists and explaining common situations that require their expertise.

Layout software and file formats

DTP professionals work with layout software. That is why they require a source package with editable working files from clients. It is a common misconception that files can easily be opened with any layout software, or that a .pdf can just be overwritten – in fact there are clear technical requirements and it is not that simple. A quality language service provider that offers DTP for document translations will be able to advise you if you have questions on this matter.

Texts that become longer or shorter in translation

This issue appears in most document translations. If the source documents contain only plain text, DTP usually isn’t necessary. However, when documents include layout elements, DTP can become beneficial or even essential.

For example, a 10-page company brochure translated from English into German. German translations tend to be about one third longer than the original English text, which can expand the brochure to 13 or 14 pages. The text shifts to new pages, and elements like graphs and illustrations must also move. These adjustments don’t happen automatically. DTP artists define 2-dimensional coordinates to reposition each element. They also modify parameters such as shape, size, and transparency to ensure the final layout remains visually appealing. These technical insights in DTP highlight its crucial role in maintaining design integrity across languages.

Fonts, scripts, special characters, etc.

While many great fonts exist for English, options for other languages remain limited. This applies not only to languages with different scripts like Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, or Khmer, but also to Roman-script languages with diacritics or special characters, such as Portuguese, French, Czech, or Polish. Some fonts lack support for these diacritics entirely. Others may support them but appear visually unappealing. DTP artists with strong experience in localisation understand which fonts work best. They also know how to create custom solutions, especially when clients use standard fonts across all business documents. These challenges offer valuable technical insights in DTP and highlight its importance in multilingual publishing.

Illustrations

An image that works perfectly well in one cultural context might carry negative connotations in other settings. That is why alongside with translating texts, illustrations often have to be exchanged in the localisation process. Strictly speaking, when new illustrations (such as photographs or drawings) are created, that is considered a creative service rather than actual desktop publishing. Nonetheless, a quality one-stop solution provider should offer such services as part of its portfolio.

From the perspective of desktop publishing, exchanging an illustration is much more complicated than it might sound. DTP artists have to consider many different aspects: One very important issue, for example, is about the colours and problems that new images (with their colours) might cause: Do the colours of images and the colours of text harmonize well? Will the text content be legible, for example when black text appears on dark background or when colour contrasts are not as strong as in the original document? Are there any no-go combinations (such as red text on a blue background, which seems to vibrate to the human eye)? What will the colours of images look like when they are printed on certain types of paper/foil, etc.?

Turnkey solutions for translation and DTP projects

As you can see from the examples above, there is much more to DTP for translations than commonly assumed, even though today we just touched upon a very small selection of issues. Good news is that with a quality language service provider that has the suitable resources to offer turnkey solutions, clients do not have to worry about the details. What is important to remember, however, is that translation and DTP experts must work together under one roof, so that DTP and/or linguistic errors will be avoided.

Singapore-based elionetwork offers one-stop service solutions for your translation and DTP needs. We are here to help you create appealing results that let your business shine in every market and every language. Contact our friendly team now to discuss your requirements!