Expert desktop publishing for professional document design
Desktop Publishing (DTP), also sometimes referred to as typesetting, is the process of using specialist software to design the layout and formatting of your documents.
The presentation of a document can be just as important as the text itself, so getting it right is critical. It can help to strengthen your brand and ensure that your message is conveyed to your readers in the best possible way.
Business Language Services has over 30 years of experience providing top‑quality desktop publishing services, backed by our team’s outstanding expertise and attention to detail.
Desktop publishing in just four simple steps!
Quick, Simple and Reliable: Desktop Publishing Made Easy
Our desktop publishing translation services are designed to make the entire process – from getting a quote to delivering high-quality final files – as simple and seamless as possible:
Consultation & Quotation
We gather all necessary information, such as languages, design guidelines and file formats. Our project manager then prepares a personalised quote tailored to your needs.
Briefing
Our linguists are briefed on stylistic preferences, length restrictions and any specific requirements, ensuring the translation aligns perfectly with your vision.
Desktop Publishing
Using specialist software, our designers adapt the layout and formatting to suit the translated text, maintaining a professional and polished presentation.
Delivery & Printing
We deliver high-resolution final files ready for use and, if needed, professionally print your documents in the requested format(s).
What type of desktop publishing do you require?
Each type of document has unique desktop publishing requirements and challenges,
so our team will work with you to gain a thorough understanding of your project and target audience.
Brochures and marketing materials
For marketing content, layout and design are especially important, as these are the first things that your readers will see before they read the text.
However, in translation, text can expand and contract depending on the language, so the sizes of elements such as text boxes may need to be adjusted.
Additional considerations for right‑to‑left languages
There are numerous languages that are written from right to left, including: Arabic, Aramaic, Azerbaijani, Dhivehi, Hebrew, Kurdish (Sorani), N’Ko, Persian, Sindhi and Urdu.
If your translated document is in any of these languages, the design will need to be flipped horizontally to accommodate the right‑to‑left text. Additionally, any directional illustrations such as series of images, flowcharts and directional bullet points (e.g. ►) will need to be reversed.
This is a highly skilled and time-consuming task, and one that is always best done by a professional desktop publisher who reads a right‑to‑left language, as only they will have the knowledge and understanding required to ensure that the design is converted appropriately.
Challenges with fonts for different writing systems
It will be no surprise that different languages use different letters and characters – from the handful of accented characters in French and German, to entirely different alphabets in Greek and Russian, or complex scripts such as Thai and Sinhala. However, not all fonts fully support all languages’ writing systems.
If unchecked, this can result in text becoming corrupted or not displaying as intended. This can sometimes be difficult to spot for people who do not speak the language, but our expert desktop publishers’ exceptional attention to detail means that they are able to seamlessly substitute alternative fonts into your content that retain the style of the original while fully supporting the target language.
Specialist software and quality assurance
Desktop publishing typically requires the use of specialist software, such as Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Microsoft Publisher, and many others. Most of these file formats integrate seamlessly with our translation software, allowing for optimal efficiency and eliminating the possibility of text being missed at any stage of the process.
All our multilingual projects are monitored and reviewed by the project manager, who will check that your design remains consistent and error‑free in all languages. They will also remain on‑hand to update you throughout the process and answer any questions you may have. Our projects are all guaranteed by our ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management certification.
