Both in private and professional life, sometimes a need to translate a wide variety of texts or to use the services of an interpreter may arise. In such a case you need to contact an appropriate translation agency. How, though, can you make sure that you have made a good decision?
Suitable services
The most important criterion when it comes to the choice of the best translation agency is whether it offers services suitable to our needs. Most companies in the industry usually specialise in translation of most common language combinations covering languages like English, German, French, Spanish. It would be beneficial to choose an agency that offers the widest range of services. This way, in the case when a need for translation of more exotic language pairings appears, you don’t need to search for yet another translation agency. Just as important are also additional services offered by the translation agency, for example a DTP service, copywriting, correction, localization, and many more.
Contact
When choosing a translation agency you should also consider the ease of contact with its employees. In this case, the more options the agency offers the, better. A company’s website helps to present the way you can contact the agency; it is there where you can find all the relevant information.
Nowadays, the most significant are the phone number and email address. However, more options are available as it isn’t always possible to go to the office physically. Sending the documents for appraisal earlier allows you to find out what the price of a given service is without leaving the comfort of your home. Therefore, another feature of a good translation agency is the possibility to order a free quote of charge via the specialised forms available on the agency’s website.
Years of experience
In addition to easy contact with the agency, equally significant is how long it has been on the market. It is an indicator of the quality of services on offer. Long experience usually means that the company can adapt to the changes in the developing industry. Therefore, it is generally advised to visit the website of the agency under consideration and familiarise yourself with the content of the “About us” tab. The information included there can reassure us about our choice or to the contrary – entice us to continue looking.
Others’ opinions
It is always worth tapping into the opinions of other customers. Satisfied clients are the best indicator of the quality of a translation agency. Therefore we urge to check the ratings available on the Internet. It can be equally important to be familiar with the references of a given translation agency. You can ask the employees of the agency to provide them to you.
Specialised, medical, legal, technical or marketing texts require adequate skill and knowledge from translators. Some of them are graphically complicated, in which case the help of a graphic designer who will perform a DTP composition may be necessary. The services of correctors, native speakers or copywriters may also be necessary. A translation agency can help with all the aforementioned cases. You just need to choose the partners that perform their tasks dutifully and professionally.
(Translation M. W.)
