Is A “cheap” Translation Agency A “better” One?

Customers who are looking for a good translation agency may often encounter highly compelling slogans: “we are the cheapest!” or “we are the best!” or “we are the fastest in the industry!” Many customers can easily fall into the lure of hiring the first “cheap, fast, best” translation agency they find on the World Wide Web. In fact, the internet is awash with such “cheap” translation outfits—as if being cheap is all that matters for a client. But is being “cheap” or “fast” necessarily indicates being “the best?” There’s the rub.

Hiring a cheap translation agency may actually involve “hidden” costs. Be wary of the type of work such an agency offers you as it may not fit your requirement. Ironically, being cheap comes at a price: if the service offered is merely to translate, without editing or proofreading of the end result, then you might end up with a poorly translated product in your hands. So if you encounter a “cheap” translation agency, and it all seems good, check out beforehand what the translation job includes. If it is a translate and edit and proofread combo despite the low price, then maybe you have a good one. But still.

A good translation agency usually assigns two or even more translators to a single translation job. Why two or more translators, you might ask. It is to ensure quality: a single translator might overlook certain nuances in the translation job, but if that translator works in close coordination with another one, then the extensive experiences of this team of translators work together to ensure top notch quality. Logically, this dynamic setup also ensures fast turn-around for translation jobs while still ensuring the quality.

Also, you will know you are in good hands if your translation agency not only offers multiple translators to a single translation job, but also offers proof of such a process. Allowing the customer to verify an agency’s translation process reassures the customer that the whole promise of quality is not merely words, but a matter of principle and practice. The agency should make it easy for the customer to make a request of such a verified process.

Of course, if you are looking for a “simply cheap” translator, you can always check out the freelance job markets. But then again, by doing so, you would really be taking your chances with luck: if you are lucky, you may find a good translator, and one who might actually be inexpensive because you no longer have to pay for any additional agency fees. But a good professional translator does not usually offer their service at a low price. Moreover, as we have previously mentioned, even very experienced translators can make mistakes. And such mistakes can be prevented if experienced translators work in a team or groups. Such a setup is often only offered by a good translation agency.

By: clacandazo

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Charlene Lacandazo works for Rosetta Translation, one of the best known global translation agencies. Rosetta considers itself mainly a legal translation agency and a technical translation agency.