When speed really matters

How fast can you translate a document is a really important question. The answer depends on the company and the reason for the translation.

We are happy to advise how best to prioritize costs, time frame and the quality of your document(s). Firstly, the industry average for a professional translator is about 1,500 words per day. That’s your starting point.

What happens if you need us to translate faster than that?

We have customers that require industrial volume translations in excess of 10,000 words a day. In extreme cases we’ve translated over 40,000 words in a weekend for customers. There are a variety of projects that require what we call rush translation.

Tenders: where you have a fixed deadline to reply.

Emergency Communication: Where you need to understand something quickly and respond.

Press Releases: Where time is of the essence.

Print Deadlines: Where you have to meet a fixed deadline, to close a sale, or an annual report

Clockface Time

Will speed impact quality?

It can. There are a variety of ways to achieve volume translation quickly:

  • Multiple translators:
    The fastest method where technical accuracy is important but overall quality isn’t, is to use multiple translators. Simply divide the volume of work you require by 1,500 words and apply that many translators. We have worked on projects where we had 10 technical translators working on the same document to deliver on really urgent projects for our clients
  • Strong team of translators with chief translator:
    If the document needs both technical accuracy and quality then you must just a fixed team for volume and have a single chief translator responsible for the overall quality and structure of the document. This is how STAR delivers industrial strength volume to its major clients. Does it cost more? This really depends on the project and the workload involved in translating and managing the details and quality. Call us to discuss your specific needs. STAR has a specific rush process for this type of translation