If you create print or online brochures for your company, you’ll know all about InDesign. It’s the leading and best software for this job, after all! But even if you’re a pro InDesign user, there are some key things to check before you send your .indd files off for translation.
Read on for our top client considerations for Adobe InDesign translation:
Include fonts and links
To make the translated InDesign file match the original artwork, provide fonts and links at the start. Supplying the fonts will mean the translated text will be visually on brand. Having the links ensures we can fully visualise everything on screen, and make minor edits to linked files if necessary (for example, if there’s text in a linked Illustrator file).
To create a package that includes fonts and links, go to InDesign > File > Package
Check that brand fonts support the target languages
Do your fonts support the target language? It’s common for system fonts to include the extended Latin alphabet (with letters such as ĕ, ģ, Ŷ, or Ŧ), but these are often omitted in free or purchased font families.
Also, some languages use completely different writing systems, such as Cyrillic, Arabic and Hebrew scripts. If your brand font doesn’t include the characters needed for the target language, we’ll need to use a different font.
Check text in linked and embedded images
If your images contain flattened text, they won’t be picked up during the initial translation. To streamline the process and ensure nothing is missed, either supply the editable links, or capture the text in another document so that it can be translated.
Many languages are longer than English
Content translated from English into other languages often comes out longer, because English tends to be more concise in its phrasing. A French translation, for example, is around 20-25% longer than its English source.
If your text is really crammed in, we may struggle to fit in the translation. To avoid excessive text adjustment (kerning, line spacing, font sizing), resizing of links, or adding new pages, try and include some white space in your design. It’ll make fitting in the translations a lot easier!
Planning to update your InDesign files?
If you’re waiting for updates to your files, or you think you want to make some changes, don’t send them for translation just yet. Once the process is underway, additions, changes or design edits will lead to delays and an increase in costs.
Pasting in translations is not recommended!
It used to be common for translations to be manually pasted into InDesign. Not anymore! Some translation companies (Sure Languages being one of them) use leading technology that removes the need for manual copying and pasting, and all the potential mistakes that come with it.
As our human linguists translate, the text is automatically flowed into the correct place. It saves hours of time, ensures nothing is missed, and guarantees everything is exactly where it should be. Translated artwork is then comprehensively reviewed and edited, ensuring the finished InDesign file looks like it was designed for the target language.
