Quality and Translation: Trust is everything

 The choice of translation agencies is wide. Google the term translation agency once: 345,000 hits. They come in all shapes and sizes and every translation company in India has its own distinctive offer. As a customer of translation services, it is not an easy task to choose from.

Or is it? As we have often said: a translation simply has to be 100% qualitatively correct. After all, almost good is not good enough when it comes to serious translations. You shouldn't think that that technical manual gives incomplete instructions, or that the legal contract or medical report is incorrect! Moreover, the translation often has to be delivered quickly and the price must remain low.

Fortunately, KIWA offers a solution to keep seeing the forest for the trees. They strictly and fairly monitor compliance with the ISO certifications that serious translation agencies impose on themselves. The most important are ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 standards. Every self-respecting translation agency (such as Translation Kings) annually qualifies for these certificates. This costs time and money, but then you also have something and for the customer it is transparent and very important to know that her translations are carried out professionally and under the control of a strong quality mark.

But what exactly are those ISO certificates about? I will spare you a lot of details, but the bottom line is that the ISO 9001 standard prescribes how the translation processes should be done and does not determine the quality of the translators. In fact, machine translations are also permissible under this standard. This standard also determines how you deal with translations and irrevocable confidentiality and what you do with complaints. Basics actually. However, under this standard, the quality and training of the translator is not so critical. Moreover, after the translation there is only a so-called 'correction round'. This means that the text will be checked again. However, this can be the same translator (… we from WC Eend) or any person without specific training requirements. Count from your profit ……

The ISO 17100 adds a quality scoop on top of that. This ISO 17100 certification is an international quality mark and means that translators must meet certain requirements and qualifications. They must all have completed translation training, have relevant work experience and, of course, they must all be native speakers. In addition, an independent proof read must take place after translation, which means that the translation is then strictly checked by another qualified native speaker translator. Four eyes and so deadly serious.

Why am I bored with these formalities? In the context of: “If it's too good to be true, it usually is”, this is a warning to watch out for quotations that offer so-called Regular translations. These seem cheaper, but if you read the fine print it turns out that you have to pay extra (if desired) for the ISO 17100. In short, a translation that only meets the ISO 9001 standard. As explained above, the lack of 17100 makes a big difference and that is definitely not recommended to you.

These agencies proudly profile themselves as being ISO 17100 certified, but their standard product is by no means. And of course the price is the bait, so that you as a customer can quickly surpass the quality standard.

Translation Kings and fortunately most serious translation agencies do not participate. We always work under the 9001 and 17100 standards. Without detours and fine print. And yet we guarantee the lowest price. A warned person counts for two!