Where to go to Translate Documents?

Say you have a set of documents that you need to get translated into other languages. You need the translations fast, at good quality but you also want to save money. And to top if off, you don’t want to spend a lot of time on research and shopping around prices. Luckily, you have several options.

How to Get Fast Translation Quotes

Well the good news is that you can check prices online and get 3 or 4 price quotes within a few minutes to make sure you are getting the best deal. No phone calls, no emails, no paperwork. It’s easy. Here are a few professional translation companies that provide online price quotes for translation of documents:

Offline Translation Service Companies

There are of course thousands of other professional document translation services. But most of them do not offer instant online quotes. Many companies will ask that you fill out a form so they can get back to you with a quote later on. Other companies will ask that you upload your documents so they can get back to you later.

There are several disadvantages to this kind of approach: (a) the quote is not immediate and the translation company can take a while to get back to you-especially on weekends and outside of office hours; (b) the translation company has your contact details, leaving you open to annoying sales calls and follow-up efforts. The nice thing about using one of the online translation companies listed above is that your inquiry is totally anonymous; you get to see the price quote without identifying yourself or leaving any contact details. If you don’t want to order then end of story, and no pesky sales person will keep calling.

The other advantage of using a professional online translation company is that you can complete the order online and pay with a credit card. Order processing, printing an invoice, getting delivery of your translations are all done quickly and efficiently thanks to the wonders of the Internet.

Affordable Online Translation Services?

Once you are ready to start your document translation project, go online and get a few quotes from some of the online translation service companies. Make sure to read the fine print so you can make an apple-to-apple comparison. Does the price include translation and review, or just translation?

Is the work done by subject-matter experts (e.g. legal, medical or technical translators)? Are there any hidden or extra costs? Once you have your price quotes and know exactly what each of the quotes entails, it should be easy for you to place an order and get the best deal for your money.

Customer Stories

Here are some typical scenarios in which customers benefit from online document translation services.

  • Companies that manufacture and distribute chemical products are often required to translate Safety Data Sheets (SDS) into multiple languages. SDS are relatively short documents which can be turned around quickly, usually in about 2 business days. Customers that need to translate SDS can quickly order the translations online and expect costs that start at US$175 per language. These customers usually order with each new product shipment-every few months is typical.
  • Informed Consent. Customers that are running clinical trials are often required by the IRB to translate the ICF into the language of the trial participants. In the US, many ICFs are translated into Spanish. Many of these clinical trials are supervised by University medical centers. Doctors offices, dental clinicals and healthcare providers also translate consent forms for their non-English speaking patients.
  • Law Firms can benefit big-time from online legal document translation services. Contracts, agreements and various court documents may require translation. These customers always need the translation done quickly and sometimes at uncommon hours.
  • Medical Device Companies are often required to translate medical device Information for Use manuals into as many as 20 languages, especially if marketing to Europe. Online translation platforms allow you to get the quotes within minutes.